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Richard's  Personal Profile View my company profile

Richard Copus
Richard Copus
Estate Agent, Auctioneer, Compliance consultant, Industry trainer
6416  Profile Views

About Me

Born in London and educated in Surrey, Richard read Law at university and spent 4 years articled in the West End dealing with conveyancing and matrimonial disputes. Having failed his Part II exams and not happy being what he called "a square peg in a round hole" tied to an office, he joined a firm of chartered surveyors in Surrey as a junior negotiator and then moved down to Devon a few years later to take the post of manager in a long established, mixed practice RICS firm down there. He calls this the best move he ever made: "Wonderful properties, lovely clients, but no money!". Having lived on Dartmoor for over 35 years, Richard has built up a strong client base with recommendations and clients returning after decades indicating that he must have done some things right, he reckons. Richard lives with his wife and 3 Yorkies on the edge of the small town of Ottery St Mary and works from home and the office in Exeter. Richard likes travelling, cricket, a pint of real ale down the pub and is a hash house harrier (the English countryside's best kept secret!). He speaks French and Spanish and has a spattering of Catalan, German and - Luxembourgish (because his daughter and family now live there!).

my expertise in the industry

Richard trained as a lawyer and practised conveyancing as a trainee solicitor in London. Richard has lived and worked in South Devon as an estate agent and auctioneer since 1984. He is an Hon Fellow of the NAEA, Fellow of NAVA and holds the Certificate of Practice in Estate Agency. Richard was actively involved in the NAEA for many years and currently sits on the Disciplinary Tribunal. He specialises in period property and compliance issues and is an industry trainer with the RICS. He recently set up www.property-redress.co.uk to help consumers who have lost money through the Modern Method of Sale. As associate partner with one of the oldest RICS firms in Devon for 21 years, Richard set up on his own in 2006 dealing with period property and barn conversions exclusively. He is now a consultant and auctioneer with an established, mixed practice firm in the centre of Exeter covering the whole of the county. Richard is known for his expert knowledge on listed buildings; he is a successful auctioneer and is increasingly involved in training and compliance.

Richard's Recent Activity

Richard Copus
The Australian model in most states works very well and can be quite easily implemented over here because Australia practices English Law. (Bringing Scotland into the equation only confuses the issue because they do not practice English Law. Going over to their system would require major and unnecessary legislative changes).

From: Richard Copus 22 April 2024 09:49 AM

Richard Copus
Australia practises English Law, as do most of the other Commonwealth jurisdictions which have amended the Law of Property Act. It is not necessary to replace the entire legal system (although Scotland is a different matter). When a property is set to go to auction, solicitors are able to prepare exchange ready legal packs within a few weeks in most cases. We have been going round and round in circles with this question for decades. The answer is on our doorstep.

From: Richard Copus 04 April 2024 10:20 AM

Richard Copus
The Fixed Term Parliament Act 2011 was repealed in 2022 and a General Election can be held at any time up to 5 years from the last one. 17th December, 2024 is exactly 5 years from the date of the previous General election so the GE cannot be kicked into next year legally. But will a Starmer Labour Government with social democratic policies make any real difference to the residential property market? Probably not. So carry on regardless. You know it makes sense!

From: Richard Copus 26 March 2024 10:13 AM

Richard Copus
Really good to see the training includes reading and understanding legal packs. Too many auctioneers are saying legal packs have nothing to do with them. The various regulatory authorities are currently poised to tighten up on some of the malpractices in the industry which have been flourishing in recent years, so this more professional approach to twenty-first century auctioneering has come at just the right time.

From: Richard Copus 15 March 2024 11:06 AM

Richard Copus
The graph collated by Twentysomething and sent to other publications yesterday showed that new offices opening were two thirds of the amount closed which means a net closure of around 1,800 rather than the almost 5,000 publicised and illustrates healthy demand for a high street presence in a very bad year. New branch openings are mentioned in half a sentence in this article but the question has to be asked: Why wasn't the graph included in EAT's article here. Was it because Twentysomething's figures were challenged yesterday and it might detract from the point they are trying to make?

From: Richard Copus 16 January 2024 09:50 AM

Richard Copus
Congratulations Webbers and to you Andrew (Jeffrey)! Long time no see and it's great to see you're still at the helm, but not quite for 100 years yet! All the best and Happy New Year!

From: Richard Copus 05 January 2024 09:47 AM

Richard Copus
Nothing better to do on Boxing Day than look through Rightmove's properties with rose-tinted spectacles over the remains of the bubbly and dream of what you only wish you could afford! Serious buyers wait until the New Year to put things into motion.

From: Richard Copus 04 January 2024 09:59 AM

Richard Copus
The sane answer to help first time buyers and those on low incomes is to build more 2/3 bedroomed terraced homes, particularly outside the big cities. Building thousands of 4 bed, detached "executive" homes which has been the norm for decades now simply drags people out of the more wealthy conurbations which adds fuel to local property values and makes it even more difficult for young and poorer people to get onto the housing ladder. The planners have a lot to answer for in accepting shekels of gold in return for developers not having to build cheaper houses. More affordable and social/council housing is the answer to the problem, not bribing electors with more subsidies which only serve to distort the market and push prices higher. We need a more balanced housing stock urgently.

From: Richard Copus 21 November 2023 09:56 AM

Richard Copus
These new rules will also apply to auctioneers who will also need to make this information available upfront on their sales particulars and not leave it to prospective bidders to find out later in the legal pack.

From: Richard Copus 31 October 2023 09:36 AM

Richard Copus
Agents CAN be prosecuted for over and under valuations under their Common Law obligations towards their clients. However, the onus of proof is on the complainant who must provide all the comparables and other evidence and, as we know, the market changes week by week and it is only with town properties where there are many similar types all built around the same time where comps work well, so the agent has all sorts of defences up his sleeve. This is why there have been no cases brought to the best of my knowledge.

From: Richard Copus 23 October 2023 10:01 AM

Richard Copus
At last an online only auctioneer talking fairly and sensibly. Panic selling at auction is never advisable and placing high reserves on properties just results in properties often not selling and the owner having to go through the whole remarketing process in a falling market. I don't agree with the stigma about not having sold at auction. That was the case years ago, but people's attitudes have changed with increased knowledge and information. Also, if you have a multi-million pound property or a street liner and are about to be repossessed or have a couple of months leeway before forced into a new mortgage at 6% from 1.5%, then putting your house up for auction at slightly less than market value should result in a quick and secure sale and save a lot of future worry and costs. With auction now a mainstream method of sale no property is unsuitable to auction, but the reason for auctioning the property may make it an unsuitable way to sell it.

From: Richard Copus 24 July 2023 09:22 AM

Richard Copus
Not quite sure how selling properties "discreetly" can protect their values. Any buyer with any brains is going to look at the current marketplace and take professional advice before they make their offer - unless they have more money then sense which is quite possible at the high end of course!

From: Richard Copus 28 June 2023 11:10 AM

Richard Copus
Building more houses with a double bedroom downstairs with en suite would solve a lot of problems and appeal to elderly people. These used to be called chalet bungalows in the sixties and seventies when they had long, sloping roofs. I'm just about to go and look at one!

From: Richard Copus 19 May 2023 10:05 AM

Richard Copus
Slight glitsch in the system today I think!!

From: Richard Copus 26 April 2023 09:51 AM

Richard Copus
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From: Richard Copus 26 April 2023 09:50 AM

Richard Copus
Compulsory qualifications mean compulsory CPD, regular training, regular updates and the mind set needed to pass a few exams which all result in a more professional approach to business which most consumers like (excluding those few who will always want something for nothing regardless of service).

From: Richard Copus 26 April 2023 09:50 AM

Richard Copus
I'm not sure whether you are referring to me or Peter, Jan. If it's me, then I do sell houses regularly (when I can find buyers!) and I am chair of a planning authority in the an area in which I do not practice and I can assure you that there is a growing consensus amongst local authorities, particularly those with sensitive conservation areas, that boards should be banned in their entirety. Not sure what PMSL means.

From: Richard Copus 16 February 2023 09:32 AM

Richard Copus
In this age of the internet boards are simply free advertising for us with the original reason for them defunct. If agents obeyed the rules (Cllr McElroy doesn't seem to realise that his "special deal" is simply asking estate agents to obey the national rules which they should be obeying anyway) then this problem wouldn't keep raising its ugly head. It won't be long before there is blanket legislation to ban boards in Conservation Areas automatically and local authorities in other areas will follow suit.

From: Richard Copus 14 February 2023 10:15 AM

Richard Copus
Down into the gutter.

From: Richard Copus 25 January 2023 09:37 AM

Richard Copus
Statistics, statistics. You can do what you want with them. Are nearly half (45%) of people so environmentally conscious that the environmental damage of building a new home would deter them from moving into a beautifully energy efficient home? My guess is that most of the people questioned weren't thinking of moving anyway and answered that it made sense to improve the energy efficiency of their own home which they liked living in.

From: Richard Copus 24 January 2023 10:17 AM

Richard Copus
The largest multi listing group in the south west is Experts in Property.

From: Richard Copus 12 January 2023 08:59 AM

Richard Copus
The term of the lease has to be stated already. Not to include easements on the property particulars would fall foul of CPRs because a footpath going across the back garden or adjoining pony paddock, for example, would materially affect the buyer's transactional decision adversely, or in plain English - many people suddenly discovering there was a footpath right across their land would not be happy and feel that they had been misled. Some of these new information requirements are doubling up on consumer protection already in place. A classic example of too much regulation!

From: Richard Copus 05 January 2023 15:10 PM

Richard Copus
Without mentioning names, one EAT regular in particular said I was talking rubbish when I compared now to the early 1990s slump. He said times had changed and implied that I had lost the plot! There's nothing like hiding your head in the sand!

From: Richard Copus 02 December 2022 09:31 AM

Richard Copus
When I first see a "beautiful" new development I'll be watching the pigs flying by at the same time!

From: Richard Copus 18 November 2022 16:25 PM

Richard Copus
81% of people are happy with their estate agent or conveyancer. Sounds quite good to me.

From: Richard Copus 15 November 2022 14:54 PM

Richard Copus
Now the market is changing it's an opportunity for all honest agents who do not get the property first time around to keep in touch with the homeowner and not let the overvaluing agent have the opportunity of benefiting from the inevitable price reduction a month or so later.

From: Richard Copus 02 November 2022 10:06 AM

Richard Copus
1989 - I'm sitting at the top of the roller coaster!

From: Richard Copus 15 September 2022 12:02 PM

Richard Copus
The personal element and one to one communication is the one major thing most agents are still good at. We lose that at our peril. Might as well sell and buy privately without it.

From: Richard Copus 01 August 2022 09:59 AM

Richard Copus
What has not been ascertained is if all this information is required by sellers selling privately. A layman can't hope to be able to comply with all of this and it is not unlawful or illegal to sell a property oneself. Does this make private sales effectively redundant, or will NTSELAT simply turn a blind eye to private sales?

From: Richard Copus 13 July 2022 10:37 AM

Richard Copus
There are all sorts of ways to get a good mobile signal in the countryside these days, such as signing up to Air Band. Of course that will not show up on the standard info available on general signal strength snd broadband speeds so to actually include the info James wants could well be misleading and prejudice a sale.

From: Richard Copus 11 July 2022 09:57 AM

Richard Copus
What a country we're now living in where families can be hamstrung for generations just to buy a house.

From: Richard Copus 04 July 2022 10:02 AM

Richard Copus
Whoops: a misreading of "warned" to "warn". Quite right Algarve Investor and apologies EAT! One of the dangerous risks of being too busy and speedreading.

From: Richard Copus 22 June 2022 09:45 AM

Richard Copus
This headline is completely false. Nowhere in the article does it say or even imply that local communities warn that a second homes sales ban will backfire. In fact is says that 93% of respondents supported the measure and the locally elected Council passed it. The article says that a property expert warns this. Estate Agency Today - please try to be a little bit more honest!

From: Richard Copus 21 June 2022 09:36 AM

Richard Copus
Not quite sure what you are trying to say, Andrew. Kate Faulkner is simply saying that average houses prices mislead people, particularly sellers and buyers. The same £400,000 flat in inner London will be worth around £300,000 in Surrey, £200,000 in Exeter and £150,000 in Newcastle. So they are completely misleading. End of story!

From: Richard Copus 13 June 2022 10:01 AM

Richard Copus
Everyone has a right to a roof over their heads. Not everyone has a right to buy but has the right to aspire to it. Build more social housing for rent only now and you'll relieve pressure off the lower end of the free market and enable people to live in relative comfort happily until they have enough money saved to buy their first home as used happen and release that rented home for someone else. We need to see an end to the worst homelessness in this country since the Victorian era.

From: Richard Copus 09 June 2022 10:23 AM

Richard Copus
He won't be around for more than 4 months so anything he says doesn't really matter any more. People need roofs over their heads first and foremost not the right to buy somewhere they can't even find to live it. Maybe his successor might get the priorities right for once.

From: Richard Copus 07 June 2022 10:24 AM

Richard Copus
As soon as you "launch" a home it is on the market and all the legislation has to be complied with. Are these properties "on" or "off" the market? House hunters tend to go onto the books of agents who sell the specific type of house they are looking for and all of us often sell properties this way very quickly by simply picking up the phone as soon as instructed on a matching property. This is the strongest argument on valuations/appraisals to counter the "everyone looks at Rightmove so it doesn't matter who I instruct" claim.

From: Richard Copus 06 June 2022 10:14 AM

Richard Copus
"You need to have your lawyers ready to go, to have pencilled a slot in the diary with your surveyor and have your cash ready". Just like you have to in most other countries. Many of these so-called "cash" buyers who are complaining don't have properties to sell but still need a mortgage. Most of us have lost count how many people have told us they're cash and then say they need a mortgage when asked.

From: Richard Copus 30 May 2022 09:28 AM

Richard Copus
Like the MCC tie Alan!

From: Richard Copus 18 May 2022 10:35 AM

Richard Copus
If you can't find an hour or so for a business lunch once or twice a month there's something wrong with your model. The occasional face to face to meeting improves relationships and understanding which helps to speed up processes.

From: Richard Copus 18 May 2022 10:22 AM

Richard Copus
Central government are certainly not experts at planning! We have the most centralised housing development system among the western democracies which harks back to the old USSR command approach. I'm not saying local authorities are be much better on their own, but the two need to liaise and seeing the rubbish that has been built on our doorstep which could have been far better designed and laid out with a bit more local authority input, the planning system would undoubtedly work far better if central government and lpa's who have an interest in what the properties look like put their heads together.

From: Richard Copus 12 May 2022 09:54 AM

Richard Copus
Well done James! Forget all the pedantic reasons on why POA is unlawful. It is simply a pain for house hunters. A few years ago when I was moving for the first time for yonks, I found nothing more frustrating than seeing POA advertised and having to waste time contacting the agent only to be told that the price was way above what I could afford or a bracket of figures that the owner was sort of hoping to achieve. Sometimes we agents need to put our consumer hat on.

From: Richard Copus 05 May 2022 10:17 AM

Richard Copus
Good! Nothing more annoying when you are looking for a house to buy and have a budget to work with. Usually when you phone the agent up you are met with a vague statement of what the owners want which is not a lot of help either.

From: Richard Copus 04 May 2022 17:15 PM

Richard Copus
On 19th August 2019 I wrote the following "review" on All Agents re their listing of my firm which no longer existed: "All Agents seem to have missed the fact that Richard Copus left this address 12 years ago and they need to update their business and contact details now to keep up their reputation as accurate and efficient reviewers!" On 25th April 2022 (today) this review is still there for the public to read and the listing implies that I'm still working at that address under that name! What a shower!

From: Richard Copus 25 April 2022 10:13 AM

Richard Copus
Well said James Munro. A property is not sold until exchange of contracts takes place. There is a common law duty to achieve the best price obtainable for any property and to pass any other offers onto the seller unless he has instructed to the contrary. Under CPRs there is also a duty to inform any other interested parties that there is a sale agreed on it. Perhaps National Trading Standards could also advise estate agents to take "STC" off boards after a property has exchanged because it is contradictory and misleading. (This weird practice emanates from the badly drafted board legislation of some 25 years or so ago).

From: Richard Copus 06 April 2022 10:19 AM

Richard Copus
A move in the right direction, but "sale ready" isn't "exchange ready", so still not there.

From: Richard Copus 04 April 2022 09:51 AM

Richard Copus
Un bon poisson d'avril!

From: Richard Copus 01 April 2022 10:31 AM

Richard Copus
Why on earth would rich people put less in their bins? Statistically, expensive houses get raided more than bog standard ones which takes up police time, and street lighting is irrelevant - the vast majority of properties worth over 2 million pounds have street lights outside them.

From: Richard Copus 28 March 2022 11:35 AM

Richard Copus
If you have to sell quickly the chances are you'll have a month or so in which to start and complete, so go to auction with a reputable auctioneer, set an attractive guide price and sensible reserve - which will be more than these Proptech savvies will give you - and you'll be home and dry knowing you haven't been ripped off.

From: Richard Copus 08 March 2022 10:22 AM

Richard Copus
James, I appreciate your pro-Russia stance which is is understandable when the great bear has been on its back foot for a third of a century, but you cannot call a non-military organisation expansionist when every free European country wants to join it (except for us of course) of their own free will. If you had said NATO not the EU then that would have been more accurate Having a mobile home on the Isle of Wight I beg to differ with your analogy! Blame the EU for World War III - Wow!

From: Richard Copus 24 February 2022 10:09 AM

Richard Copus
The EU is hardly instigating a "massive expansion". Former soviet block countries wanted desperately to join it for safety and security which, by definition caused the EU to expand. Hardly surprising given this morning's news. I fully appreciate that Russia has at last stopped reeling from the speedy loss of its massive empire and wants to flex its rusty muscles and use the Ukraine as a buffer between itself and the democratic west - an explanation which has been noticeably lacking from our independent media which could have encouraged NATO Governments to discourage Ukraine from attempting to join the organisation (rather as the EU always puts hurdles in the way of Turkey joining the EU). If wealthy, super-rich Russians want to spend their wealth in other countries, so be it. It will be a pinprick of a loss to London, but quite where they are going to go now apart from China is anybody's guess.

From: Richard Copus 24 February 2022 09:43 AM

Richard Copus
Property price and tenure have been mandatory under the TPOS code for a few years now so nothing new here and the length of the lease, unexpired term, ground rent and maintenance charges are meant to be included too. The Council Tax band just makes added sense.

From: Richard Copus 21 February 2022 11:18 AM

Richard Copus
The permanent residence criteria does not give EU citizenship and is open to people from most countries. Each individual EU country has its own criterion for naturalisation, e.g. France is 6 years permanent residence or 3 years if you are studying full time. Portugal and Germany are more difficult. Moving to the British dependencies in the West Indies is as it has always been and has hardly been triggered by Brexit! Global Citizenship is a lovely Orwellian phrase which actually means nothing!

From: Richard Copus 17 February 2022 09:57 AM

Richard Copus
Good for him! I've come across this on a number of occasions over the last few decades and it rarely leads to the seller getting less for their home than they otherwise would, so not as altruistic as it may seem. Not advised in a buyers' market though and I'm talking about the south-west of England and not Wales.

From: Richard Copus 14 February 2022 10:32 AM

Richard Copus
How do you define under-occupation? Many elderly people hold onto their houses because their children and grand children come to stay in the family home periodically each year. That will not be computed into the statistics. A house is a home and many pensioners have made their houses their homes over decades and it is part of their whole being. To take that away would be like ripping part of themselves apart.

From: Richard Copus 04 February 2022 09:58 AM

Richard Copus
There's a place for exclusivity agreements, but if we all had exchange ready packs when buying and selling (see EAT's Newsflash) they would be irrelevant!

From: Richard Copus 03 February 2022 09:38 AM

Richard Copus
IT Crowd gobbledook doesn't help anything. Yes, times have moved on and what is needed is not tinkering but a full exchange ready legal pack exactly the same as we have for auctions and formal (NB NOT informal) tender. As Rob well knows I was strongly against HIPS, but this was because a survey was to be included which would have added hundreds of pounds and also not be trusted by many purchasers although a survey report has to be independent of interests. The documentation can be ready within a few days now as those who use oven ready packs well know, and it is cheaper to produce. It really doesn't need third parties to glamorise and charge for this, just a legal requirement so that conveyancers have to do the work just as many do successfully now - and they do as any auctioneer will tell you.

From: Richard Copus 03 February 2022 09:30 AM

Richard Copus
Great to hear a major player trumpeting the success of traditional, non-conditional auctions in contrast to the media hype of the conditional so-called "modern" method of sale. Straightforward, transparent and no nonsense - that's what the consumer wants and clearly likes.

From: Richard Copus 25 January 2022 10:21 AM

Richard Copus
Sorry. I’m a bit late to this thread. I was instructed on a house to sell by conventional auction 10 days ago. The seller’s solicitor prepared an exchange ready legal pack as usual which was published a couple of days ago. I received an offer today a bit more than we were expecting to receive at auction in a month’s time and he came in this afternoon and signed the contract with the 10% deposit. It’s all like working in a different dimension.

From: Richard Copus 20 January 2022 19:50 PM

Richard Copus
Quick buy firms use fear to generate business. Of course many people who do not understand that they can achieve just as secure a sale at a better price by traditional auction will go for the money being immediately offered them. I'm particularly worried about people under stress selling this way because of cladding issues. Does anybody know what sort of prices these properties are being sold at and the percentage reduction in price compared to if there were no cladding issues?

From: Richard Copus 19 January 2022 09:55 AM

Richard Copus
Hi Mark, A bit more than many EIG and PIE contributors appreciate in my opinion, but he could have done a lot more for the grassroots - the real people in the industry who are on the frontline. There's loads wrong with Propertymark, particularly in its reincarnation, but one thing it has done has kept the industry and its problems in high profile within Government, which is more than one can say for the RICS.

From: Richard Copus 07 January 2022 09:48 AM

Richard Copus
A gelding horse has more concentration than a stallion, its mind is focused better, it doesn't get hot under the collar and often performs its task better! That's why trainers and owners like them. I presume that's why you described Mark Hayward as such, Mark Long.

From: Richard Copus 06 January 2022 10:36 AM

Richard Copus
In the real world outside estate agency people can see that prices have boomed to an extent that they have not done since the late eighties (unless you have been living in London of course). Whilst many of the factors that were present then are not present now, the one that is present is cost. Supply was an issue then just as it is now (it has been an issue since the 1947 T&CPA restricted building) and I shall be be very surprised if we don't see a fall of around 10% starting later next year after a pregnant pause in transactions. But it sounds as though I'm the only one thinking this so I'll probably be proved wrong! Happy Christmas to us all!

From: Richard Copus 22 December 2021 13:31 PM

Richard Copus
Like the "modern" method double speak seducing sellers. It'll all come out in the wash when the market changes and the first action for conflict of interests raises its head.

From: Richard Copus 16 December 2021 09:49 AM

Richard Copus
Jersey is not part of the UK. It was not a part of England either pre Union. It is a Crown Dependency with the Queen technically Duke of Normandy. The UK protects its borders by consent. It has its own legal system which is completely different from English Law and is Norman French. Rather important differences which will become more obvious soon as Jersey cars cannot use the new UK stickers.

From: Richard Copus 14 December 2021 16:22 PM

Richard Copus
Referral fees have got out of hand with many agents recommending conveyancers who'll provide them with income but who are quite frankly not up to the job. Referrals are meant to be to the best practitioners in the business for the benefit of the client whom the agent has a duty to work for to his best endeavours. It smells.

From: Richard Copus 06 December 2021 10:41 AM

Richard Copus
The Guild and Propertymark advice conflicts. RICS say nothing. Like the Government, the industry does not know what it is doing so let's just all keep our fingers crossed and use common sense.

From: Richard Copus 01 December 2021 09:46 AM

Richard Copus
"Property sales plummet, but there's nothing to worry about"; "interest rate hike won't hurt". I'm surprised there isn't a third headline in EAT today saying "estate agents go bankrupt, but everyone's fine".

From: Richard Copus 24 November 2021 10:48 AM

Richard Copus
What a surprise. Charge the lowest commissions in the western world and you are bound to bring in less. Also studying for qualifications and passing the exams does result in a different attitude to business. For most people.

From: Richard Copus 18 November 2021 11:02 AM

Richard Copus
Another organisation throwing around statistics to get themselves some publicity. "A typical Victorian property.....is average Band E"? I specialise in period property and most of the Victorian and Edwardian buildings I deal with have been upgraded before they come onto the market for sale and have higher ratings than this. It's not difficult to achieve a fairly decent rating for older properties, although they'll never be top of the EPC rate. Most people who buy older properties like them for lots of other reasons, not least that most of them are better built than their twenty-first century counterparts and have stood the test of time. Even listed buildings (of which there are less than 400,000 in England or less than 1% of total housing stock) can be upgraded more than many people realise. In Britain we love the character of older houses and it's not surprising that these command HIGHER values generally than modern insulated boxes.

From: Richard Copus 11 November 2021 12:11 PM

Richard Copus
Thanks for the clarity Bryan and my apologies too for the VERY late response! For it to be a legally binding contract some form of consideration is required which presumably is in the form of a nominal sum of say £1.

From: Richard Copus 09 November 2021 10:27 AM

Richard Copus
Bryan, you say these agreements are "obviously legally binding" and that compensation "may be due" in cases of breach. Solicitors I have spoken to about it say that these agreements are not legally binding. Please could you explain how they are. The procedure has been in place for years to legally bind buyers and sellers to a transaction. It is called an exclusivity or lock-in/out agreement which does legally bind both parties. Relatively easy to set up and tried and tested in the courts. For readers, one of the clearest explanations of these agreements can be found if you google "lockin/lock out agreements".

From: Richard Copus 05 November 2021 10:17 AM

Richard Copus
Of course ordinary agents are flocking to the so-called Modern Method. It is a licence to print money for them. Luckily more buyers and now sellers are seeing through the icing on the cake and don't much like the taste the actual cake leaves in their mouths when they realise the sums they have lost selling or buying this way.

From: Richard Copus 02 November 2021 10:38 AM

Richard Copus
The rules on boards are not that pedantic. Any synonym for "for sale" is not likely to lead to prosecution. We already have "sale agreed ", "under offer" and "sold subject to contract" that mean the same thing and are accepted. When the legislation came out some 20 years or so ago, a mistake was made in the drafting which omitted "sold" and stated that a "sold subject to contract" board or equivalent could remain in situ for the stated time after exchange of contracts. No agent challenged this which resulted in the crazy situation of agents erecting boards saying that a property was still subject to contract when this was not the case or putting "STC" which is the same thing. National Trading Standards have more recently made it clear that this is a nonsense and actually a misleading advertisement and none of us should be afraid of saying "sold" now after exchange which is exactly what the house is!

From: Richard Copus 19 October 2021 09:58 AM

Richard Copus
Good to see educational standards improving, but is The Guild now in direct competition with NAEA/NAVA Propertymark who provide similar qualifications and, if so is there a conflict of interests for some Board members who are pro-active in both organisations?

From: Richard Copus 15 September 2021 09:55 AM

Richard Copus
1. Professionalism. 2. local knowledge. What good estate agents have been working on since dawn. Interestingly over 85% are not particularly interested in agents being tech savvy. This is a real swipe at all those in our industry who are forever saying that we need to encourage more people with no agency knowledge into our business, that exams and professionalism are old school and that the focus should be on prop tech influence, referrals and low fees. More than sad that over half of those surveyed said that the agent they dealt with didn't know their local property market and lacked expertise. Independent, local estate agents need to capitalise on this.

From: Richard Copus 03 September 2021 09:59 AM

Richard Copus
As someone who deals primarily with listed buildings I have to agree!

From: Richard Copus 31 August 2021 09:30 AM

Richard Copus
These are not proper auctions of course but conditional auctions. Traditional auctions (nearly all online too these days) provide the security and fairness that buyer and seller expect and the buyer is not ripped off with a massive premium that goes into the agents' pockets. Trad auctions still outnumber conditional by far and are increasing too, but without hype.

From: Richard Copus 25 August 2021 09:35 AM

Richard Copus
Pay to view, charging buyers high fees - all this is the result of reducing seller's commissions to peanuts over the years. The residential sector of our industry is in a complete mess and needs some neuro linguistic programming fast!

From: Richard Copus 29 July 2021 10:01 AM

Richard Copus
Daniel, I'm not sure what you mean by agents not waiting for conveyancers to get clients legally prepared. This makes the pack warm but not oven ready. With a fortnight only needed to prepare a legal pack which is done immediately before the house is put onto the market - and only the cost of the searches and a few disbursements up front NW - getting a legally binding exchange ready pack ready in the first place surely has to be the better option.

From: Richard Copus 22 July 2021 10:39 AM

Richard Copus
I always find it bizarre that exchange ready packs have been available for yonks for auction sales, yet solicitors seem totally unable to prepare exactly the same thing for private treaty sales. On the average auction that most of us do, the seller's solicitor only takes a couple of weeks at the most to prepare everything a buyer and their solicitor needs to exchange contracts and it is very rare for the buyer's solicitor to query anything except the smallest details because the conveyancer makes sure that the contract is oven ready. Of course the seller must pay something up front, although this is only a fraction of the full cost which is normally payable on completion in the usual way and there is a slightly higher, but not hugely, fall through rate for private treaty sales. Why we keep agonising over this problem is strange. The answer is with us already.

From: Richard Copus 22 July 2021 10:09 AM

Richard Copus
Orwell would be proud of I Am Sold. If anyone can turn white into black or vice versa it's them. Double speak, twisting facts around to read as they want - they are the masters of it. Of course the system works and makes loads of money for them and their estate agent "partners", but often at the expense of selling houses for less than they would otherwise fetch by charging buyers extortionate reservation fees which are built into the buyers' budgets and which reduce the number of bidders (you only have to delve into social media to see how many buyers won't touch MMA). I am very concerned that I Am Sold states that "over 42% of their properties sold over the reserve price" - a paltry figure and I do wonder if this is actually a typo. ALL properties have to sell above their reserve price by law in traditional auctions and they complete in 28 days - half the time.

From: Richard Copus 16 July 2021 09:53 AM

Richard Copus
Very sensible. How this Government can remove legal restrictions on wearing face masks is beyond me. We can all go out to the restaurant as it is and go shopping, so the economic benefits of removing all the remaining restrictions in the face of overwhelming medical evidence is nonsensical. Individual responsibility does not apply to the large minority who do not possess it and who we all have to mingle with. Well done Propertymark and also (although I hate to say it) Nicola Sturgeon. My wife will be one of the ones gearing up for another round of medical hell on minimal pay.

From: Richard Copus 13 July 2021 10:01 AM

Richard Copus
How ridiculous! "I say old chap, just wandering down to the Brentford boutique this morning for a glass of champers with those delightful estate agent chappies. Mustn't forget to transfer that £2 million first in case they find me a third home in Cornwall to adorn my portfolio. Ah, what a life!"

From: Richard Copus 12 July 2021 09:57 AM

Richard Copus
Purely effective brand awareness these days and occasionally a useful sales lead when people are driving around looking at other property and suddenly see a board on a house that whets their appetite. With more and more councils using agents' blatant disregard of the board rules to bring in blanket bans, it won't be long before boards are a part of history.

From: Richard Copus 29 June 2021 09:46 AM

Richard Copus
The whole industry is in a state of flux at the moment. Now is the time to try out new ideas and test the water. However, we mustn't forget that probably the only good thing about the English and Welsh method of private treaty sale is that everything is open, free and fluid. The time-waster who suddenly sees something great unexpectedly soon gets their finances together. Start charging £5 for viewings and going into people's private affairs before they've even looked at a house is risky business. On the same basis we ought to charge sellers £100 or so upfront to put their houses on the market because so many of them change their minds and withdraw their homes from sale. It could be the best way to kill the market when things start to go wrong.

From: Richard Copus 16 June 2021 10:44 AM

Richard Copus
Bring back proper social housing. Encourage local authorities and housing associations to build loads more houses for rental only which young and poorer people can actually afford to live in with no right to buy. This will take the pressure off the free market and ameliorate residential property values. Many young people will then be able to save up to buy as always used to be the case until her ladyship who said that society doesn't exist took over the reins of government! Increasing stamp duty will do virtually nothing to solve the problem.

From: Richard Copus 03 June 2021 09:45 AM

Richard Copus
The housing market has not "primarily boomed because of the stamp duty holiday" and most buyers are not going to save "thousands of pounds". The market was getting stronger before the stamp duty holiday kicked in because covid opened the eyes to many people who suddenly realised how technology now meant they could work away from the office quite easily, and the psychological effect of Lockdown made people want to move. The stamp duty holiday exacerbated house price increases and during the last 6 months it has wiped out most savings to purchasers. As we well know as estate agents, most government interventions in the property market distort it - see Help to Buy.

From: Richard Copus 24 May 2021 09:38 AM

Richard Copus
Five and a half times income! A recipe for tears. For the rest of us it will bolster property values nicely thank you.

From: Richard Copus 22 April 2021 09:35 AM

Richard Copus
What a load of codswallop!

From: Richard Copus 21 April 2021 10:18 AM

Richard Copus
The fact that most agents don't know the length of a lease is irrelevant. They have had a legal obligation to know and understand lease details for some years now and all good agents publicise the lease term, unexpired years, ground rent and maintenance charges as a matter of course. These are the first things anyone wants to know when buying a flat so have to be classed as material info.

From: Richard Copus 21 April 2021 10:08 AM

Richard Copus
I'm glad they've got the sense to call them Online Conditional Auctions which is exactly what they are. MMA as a brand is getting an increasingly bad name. There are more and more smaller auctioneers in the market now providing a conditional auction route charging modest buyers' fees which equate to the long-standing admin fees payable at traditional auctions and who are marketing the properties themselves or through established partners.

From: Richard Copus 16 April 2021 10:23 AM

Richard Copus
Can we have some clarity here. Surely tamp duty AVOIDANCE is legal. Stamp Duty EVASION is illegal.

From: Richard Copus 07 April 2021 09:33 AM

Richard Copus
If this isn't an April Fool, count me in as the first buyer. What fun and cleverly thought out! We'll all love playing it in the fourth Lockdown!

From: Richard Copus 01 April 2021 09:51 AM

Richard Copus
Reminds me of a solicitor practising in Newton Abbot around 30 years ago. He always gave his own valuation of a property to purchaser clients "to be helpful" to them. He had no idea of property values, but his clients believed him because "he's a solicitor". Luckily he retired. Mr Peach should stick to his own job and we to ours!

From: Richard Copus 30 March 2021 09:47 AM

Richard Copus
That's covered by the VAT raised on professional fees, general moving costs and purchase of items for the new home on 175 houses at a sale price of around £500,000 so hardly pressure on taxpayers with the tens of thousands of extra transactions the holiday has enabled.

From: Richard Copus 29 March 2021 10:22 AM

Richard Copus
With all the criticisms of Propertymark, membership training is one of its great strengths. Now that The Guild is offering Level 3 courses, could The Guild now be considered to be in direct competition with Propertymark and aiming to attract its members? Anybody's thoughts?

From: Richard Copus 25 March 2021 11:11 AM

Richard Copus
Looking ahead to compensate for the loss of revenue which will come from the unpopularity of MMA.

From: Richard Copus 04 March 2021 09:55 AM

Richard Copus
As I keep saying to the point of boredom, there are increasing problems with this method of sale and a lot more complaints coming in where the agents are paying out rather than taking the risk of legal action. There is definitely a place for conditional auctions in the marketplace, but massive buyers' fees, seducing sellers with the promise of a free lunch and encouraging agents with the promise of "loads of money" is not the way forward. (I received this invite from an "auctioneer" a few months back. The headline was: "Recession Proof your Business. Stop Dwindling estate Agency Fees: Add an extra £225,000 per annum to your business").

From: Richard Copus 24 February 2021 10:04 AM

Richard Copus
I'm not sure how this is a problem, unless the government makes it unlawful to buy or sell homes which do not meet the standard, which would be unheard of. Most of us who buy older homes like them for what they are and the energy efficiency criteria is lower down their list than for people who like more modern properties. Most older houses (even listed ones which I specialise in) can have their energy efficiency improved quite substantially, and their values represent the fact that they are not up to the standard of modern homes. Letting would become more of a problem, but the majority of purchasers are owner occupiers.

From: Richard Copus 19 February 2021 12:02 PM

Richard Copus
Hi Sam. Any chance you could get in touch with me about your training on MMA please? I can't leave my contact details here, but via LinkedIn would be ideal. Many thanks, Richard

From: Richard Copus 15 February 2021 17:49 PM

Richard Copus
Many solicitors say this is technically Tender not Auction. In any event, there are increasing numbers of people who feel they are being ripped off by the Modern Method with TPOS having decided in the buyers' favour in cases recently and more and more agents/"auctioneers" repaying the reservation fee when the facts are put before them. This is highly likely to be the new PPI scandal because many practitioners are using MMA as a licence to print money and are not complying properly. It just needs national media coverage to start the flow of complainants who, until now, have not come forward because the practitioners say they have no case against them.

From: Richard Copus 15 February 2021 09:42 AM

Richard Copus
The way to determine "those already involved in a transaction" would be those who have exchanged contracts - straightfoward - and possibly those who have sales agreed on their homes with solicitors already instructed on the transaction - not quite so straightforward.

From: Richard Copus 15 February 2021 09:34 AM

Richard Copus
Because they don't speak English we completely ignore what is going on a stone's throw away across The Channel. In France, Le Bon Coin is massively more successful than any other property portal. Se Loger, France's Rightmove is a long way down the scale. And what is Le Bon Coin? It is best described as an EBay plus selling absolutely everything, residential property being one of its sectors. Hundreds of thousands of French people sell their houses through this portal each year and you only have to look at the reviews to see how popular it is. Ok, this is France and the legal system is different - no messing around between sale agreed and exchange so sales chasing not really needed much - and French estate agency fees are exorbitant (rather like buyers' premiums under the Modern Method of Auction here) - but it works well. You don't have to be a brain surgeon to work out a way that a similar model could be successful here. Don't trust any portal that says it will never allow private sales. it WILL happen.

From: Richard Copus 29 January 2021 10:13 AM

Richard Copus
The NAEA is often knocked, but it provides excellent educational services, free legal advice for agents with problems and regular updated information on legal and regulatory matters to help and protect members. Its main problem is that increasingly many agents don't consider themselves professionals but salesman and rally against doing anything like taking a few exams or keeping updated CPD because they don't see why they should. Also in reorganising itself, the Association destroyed its branch base which was its bedrock. The NAEA membership was at its highest around 15 years ago when most PPDs still aspired to something more and there was regular input and discussion between the top and grass root members.

From: Richard Copus 25 January 2021 09:37 AM

Richard Copus
I thought we all visited vendors to give market assessments.

From: Richard Copus 22 January 2021 09:41 AM

Richard Copus
Does shared ownership benefit from this change?

From: Richard Copus 07 January 2021 10:02 AM

Richard Copus
Best excuse ever for people to be able to leave highly infected areas for a day out. Watch for a surge in viewings from out of area viewers whose properties are not on the market!

From: Richard Copus 05 January 2021 09:31 AM

Richard Copus
SDL are trying to clear up the murky world of the "Modern" method of auction and its associated online methods. Many of the others could follow suit and start explaining clearly to applicants (the prospective purchasers are not their clients) that a contract is a two-way agreement the terms of which they (the agent) and their clients have to abide by too. There have been a number of cases where the agent has not returned the very high reservation fee where the seller has delayed exchange of contracts through no fault of the buyer who has been ready, willing and able to exchange by the end of the 28 day period, on the argument that it is only the buyer who has to abide by the mutual terms. Many buyers have gone away with their tails between their legs and an empty bank balance by not pursuing these matters further. Clarity and using plain English that ordinary people can understand is what is needed and a level playing field for both parties. Using language such as "disruptive digital marketing campaign to discuss the common misconceptions" doesn't help at all. Unfortunately many of the myths and misconceptions are reality.

From: Richard Copus 31 December 2020 10:37 AM

Richard Copus
I think the point is that we are all under stress at the moment and many of us probably have mental health issues of one degree or the other with everything that is going on. It's just that most people buckle under because there is no alternative. If conveyancing is giving such a disproportionately large number of people mental health issues there is something seriously wrong with the business model and it needs to be looked at quickly as a health and safety issue. Conveyancers are human beings like the rest of us.

From: Richard Copus 14 December 2020 14:20 PM

Richard Copus
For "mental health issues" read "stress". That's what most of us have to put up with most of the time at the moment and we live life and get on with it.

From: Richard Copus 14 December 2020 09:35 AM

Richard Copus
I agree totally. Design is deplorable. One of the main reasons for this is that local authorities look at the number and type of dwellings and ignore what they look like, for the most part. As long as not too many go up and they are in the least problematical locations, all is right with the world. A classic example is the small estate recently constructed locally. These psuedo Georgian homes (which have non-opening lower window casements which is is the norm now which make them very difficult to escape from in case of fire) are just plonked there. Street lighting is the same. Ever increasing height of lamp posts and lumination completely out of keeping with residential neighbourhoods is also a problem, not least because the lighting type is not included in the plans submitted. Planning authorities have the right to stipulate design within their remits but don't bother most of the time (and I speak as chair of a planning committee!).

From: Richard Copus 09 December 2020 10:35 AM

Richard Copus
The problem is the British public think that estate agents are qualified.

From: Richard Copus 08 December 2020 13:07 PM

Richard Copus
The complaints are beginning to come in fast from people misled by this method and I am increasingly advising complainants. The first cases are likely to be coming to court in the near future, Covid restrictions permitting. £6,000 is at the bottom end of the scale. £10,000 and £12,000 fees are not unusual. Trading Standards and the TPOS Code of Conduct now state that practitioners have to tell sellers that the price they will get for their home where there is a high buyer's fee will be less than they would otherwise achieve because the buyer computes that figure into what they offer, and also that the number of bidders for the property will be less as a result, but few do so for obvious reasons. Some practitioners treat the contract as one way only and if they do not comply with the terms it does not matter. Also, many buyers are not being told at the outset that the reservation fee is added to the purchase price for stamp duty purposes, and many sub-agents are simply producing misleading particulars. It is money for old rope, but old ropes tend to snap.

From: Richard Copus 26 November 2020 10:51 AM

Richard Copus
I cannot see any reason why the agent can't emphasise the service he provides when quoting his fee. Many individual agents charge different fees for different properties depending on their type and location.

From: Richard Copus 16 November 2020 09:53 AM

Richard Copus
As we estate agents well know, Caveat Emptor flew out of the window years ago, the first inroads into it being the PMA and more recently CPRs which mean that non-disclosure of anything that may effect a buyer's transactional decision - and that's a great deal of things - when purchasing a property is a criminal offence. A bit weird that some senior conveyancers/solicitors are only just picking this up; "I think we have to CONSIDER moving towards a vendor disclosure process". Very worrying, actually!

From: Richard Copus 10 November 2020 10:02 AM

Richard Copus
A strange new set-up. Don't see what it can do that we aren't all doing already more efficiently and for less.

From: Richard Copus 03 November 2020 10:08 AM

Richard Copus
Quite right, but the chances are that this strange Government will do one of three things: (1) extend the stamp duty-free period having realised how much revenue it has been raising in VAT etc through greater transactions and how much it will lose if the market dies, (2) introduce a stepped return to the previous regime, or (3) introduce the desperately needed stamp duty reforms that it will have had 9 months or so to promulgate; this common-sense latter scenario of course being pie in the sky!

From: Richard Copus 26 October 2020 09:22 AM

Richard Copus
Sounds like back to the noughties! With office values plummeting on the provincial high street and the screws being put on driving and on out of town centres in the name of the environment, this sounds like a sensible idea for networking but not for footfall.

From: Richard Copus 13 October 2020 10:05 AM

Richard Copus
It is now a legal requirement for agents to give information about leases - their term, length of term unexpired, maintenance charges and ground rent - and this is embodied in the revised TPOS Code of Conduct. Of course, that doesn't mean anything for some practitioners and most good agents have been providing most of the info for years.

From: Richard Copus 09 October 2020 09:35 AM

Richard Copus
20% VAT on virtually everything connected with a sale and purchase from our professional fees to removals, carpets, curtains and new fridges creates a masssive amount of revenue for the Treasury. Plus the tax on fuel from removal lorries ploughing around, increased income tax from people relocating with new and better jobs and the general extra tax generated simply from encouraging more mobility surely argues for Stamp Duty to go now.

From: Richard Copus 08 October 2020 09:41 AM

Richard Copus
Who are these people? First they tell us that it is great to buy people's houses at "marginally" less than the asking price to beat the problems with private treaty when in reality they are buying them at thousands of pounds less and and flipping them, and now they are knocking their competitors for charging - wow - an average of 1.78% commission and encouraging people to shop around for the cheapest deal with no mention of quality, efficiency or service. If there are any members of the house selling public reading this, it is worth noting that an agent who states they are selling your house at or "marginally" below the market value and then resells it quickly at a materially higher price can be successfully sued in the courts and most of the difference plus costs recovered from that agent.

From: Richard Copus 30 September 2020 09:51 AM

Richard Copus
If you're in a hurry, not worried about money, or desperate, then losing thousands of pounds for a quick sale (which you could arguably do at auction and getter a better price), then using an agent that "typically purchases homes from sellers at below market values" is worth a thought. But for the majority to whom money is important, putting up with the hassle to achieve full value is worth it. And we are talking tens of thousands of pounds less here, not just a "marginal" few bob. The best and easiest way to solve the problem with private treaty sales is to amend the law, as have many other English Law practising countries such as Australia & New Zealand. It's not rocket science and doesn't need starting again from scratch as moving to the Scottish system, for example would require.

From: Richard Copus 28 September 2020 10:00 AM

Richard Copus
These are bland statistics and, as they say, they don't take into account the property condition or other factors which make them dubious from the start. Two of the rules for advising clients to sell at auction are: your house is in a poor structural state and unmortgageable; you want a quick, secure sale and are prepared to accept less than market value to achieve this. These properties obviously sell at less that they would if the same property was in good order or the seller was not in a hurry, so these figures are to be expected. The Modern Method throws a can into the statistics because conventional houses are often sold this way, but by and large, the amounts achieved by this method on conventional houses are closer to the amount which they would have achieved if they had been sold by private treaty, with the high reservation fees depressing sale price in some cases. Who are Octagon Capital?

From: Richard Copus 04 September 2020 09:37 AM

Richard Copus
Ah, but if you point out to them that they are not fulfilling their part of the agreement, i.e. marketing their property properly, then that is in breach of a fundamental term of that contract under contract law and you CAN walk away from it. A contract works both ways.

From: Richard Copus 03 September 2020 11:48 AM

Richard Copus
If your property is not being marketed fully (which means it might not reach its full market value) threaten to take legal action against the agent as he/she "must use [their] best endeavours to find the best buyer at the best available price" as tried and tested in the courts. Also, we have all had experience of people who do not like being "badgered" and just walk away and find something else. If you are "inundated with requests for viewings" and simply don't have the staff to cope with them, take someone on from the growing ranks of the unemployed who will be very pleased to join your team.

From: Richard Copus 03 September 2020 09:49 AM

Richard Copus
Before we all start to panic at these Socialist policies supposedly to be implemented by a right wing Conservative government (which means they probably won't happen), we need to look at the trees in the wood. "The new property CGT could be set at 10% of the increase in the value of the property since it was last sold". House price inflation as we knew it in the past has gone for good. The average house value (if one excludes London which ought to be treated a special case in future) is around £300,000 or less. If that increased by 50% in 10 years CGT of £15,000 would be payable - not much more than the stamp duty now. (Outside London house prices actually went up by only 30%-35% in the last 10 years). If one moved more regularly the CGT would be much lower, so the new regime would encourage house moving which is what our industry is all about. The fact that CGT would also encourage house price stability would be a good thing for most people. OK, properties over around £1.5 million would pay more than they did before the stamp duty holiday, but they are a fraction of the stock. And you can't tell me there won't be relief for the aged selling up - the Government won't want to pick up the care home bill!

From: Richard Copus 01 September 2020 10:02 AM

Richard Copus
Crikey! I'd better up sticks quick and move to The Orkneys before prices spiral out of control there. So easy and cheap to get anywhere and I can always pop over to Iceland or Norway for the afternoon! The fact that the Scottish Highlands, Western Islands, Moray and Powys are all sure recession resistant locations will allay fears - I'm glad August is still the silly season!

From: Richard Copus 27 August 2020 09:53 AM

Richard Copus
Discretionary in theory and only in part. Conveyancers bills have to be paid and, for the most part, so do estate agents' and removal companies' bills. The vast majority of people want to make alterations immediately to the house they are buying (they have taken this into account in the price they are paying) so, although discretionary in theory, in practice new VATable work is nearly always carried out to some extent.

From: Richard Copus 24 August 2020 09:37 AM

Richard Copus
Not necessarily. The thriving property market is bringing in masses of extra revenue collected from 20% VAT on estate agents services, solicitors services, removal firms bills, new fridges, carpets, curtains, paint, wallpaper, £15,000 + VAT on a new kitchen £5,000 + VAT on a new bathroom, you name it when you move. Introducing CGT on primary residences would lose Boris half his voters overnight (maybe a good reason for introducing it!).

From: Richard Copus 21 August 2020 10:00 AM

Richard Copus
Unless Brexit proves to be a disaster, London will always be a great city in which to live and work. It was the "fifth French city" until a couple of years ago and the City is still set to stay as the World's major financial centre jointly with Wall Street. The density of population is amongst the lowest of any capital city in the world and there's loads to do there. The public transport system is actually pretty good and comfortable, although everybody likes to moan about it British style. You can also earn a decent income there. Come down to the West Country and you'll find some of the lowest wages in the country, superfast broadband at 15 mgs (if you're lucky), towns which goes to sleep after 6 in the evening and you'll have to drive everywhere!

From: Richard Copus 19 August 2020 12:51 PM

Richard Copus
I agree there is not usually (but not never) a conflict of interest, Richard but the seller needs to know that the agent's primary duty of care is to the buyer and not him, because it is the buyer who is paying him. Also, the buyer has just as many financial commitments as does the seller so he will be paying less for the property than he would otherwise do. Under the new TPOS Code of Conduct agents are meant to make this clear to sellers when buyers are paying reservation fees and buyer's premiums, but the evidence is that most are not. The test has to be what we would do as buyers, and I for one would make damn sure that I paid a lot less for a property than I would otherwise do if I had 2 sets of fees amounting to tens of thousands of pounds or if the house was competing with others where no buyer's premium was payable. Anything to shake up the current conventional system has to be welcome, but these ideas are open to misuse and there will be increasing complaints about the agents using them, particularly from vendors who feel they have been misinformed and short changed.

From: Richard Copus 11 August 2020 10:03 AM

Richard Copus
I agree totally Simon as a long time Devon resident having moved from London/Surrey 30 odd years ago too. Lots of green down here but far fewer facilities and not much money! There's much wishful thinking going on at the moment which will probably disperse as the new order finds our big cities cleaner and quieter. The facts indicate more than a few people seriously looking to move from London to wider spaces, but most of them want to be within easy hailing distance of the capital which means within a hundred miles or under a two hour drive or train journey, and of course Wiltshire and Bristol form part of the south-west for statistical purposes although they are not really in the south-west demographically.

From: Richard Copus 06 August 2020 10:01 AM

Richard Copus
I can't understand for the life of me why anyone can complain about having to have a proven minimum standard of competence to work, which includes some pretty basic examinations, when they are dealing with people's most valuable assets and where incompetent advice can affect someone for the rest of their lives. As Guy Innes from Australia says where the States practice English Law (as sensibly amended for residential property sales) "It's not a big deal".

From: Richard Copus 21 July 2020 09:34 AM

Richard Copus
There's not a great deal of difference from the TPOS Code and RICS & Propertymark Rules of Conduct, except for the big word "qualified" which awaits definition. Being "open and transparent with the new regulator about matters that might affect their or others' trust in the profession" needs more explanation and "agents must report breaches of the relevant code to the regulator" sounds a bit like making shopping your competitor mandatory.

From: Richard Copus 20 July 2020 09:57 AM

Richard Copus
As I have mentioned to the point of boredom I'm sure, this so-called "Modern" method is going to blow up in their face before long. This is quite simply because the massive reservation fees encourage people to take action when they have been disappointed which they would not otherwise be bothered to do and a large number of marketing agents are doing something wrong, whether it is glossing over the reduction in sale price to sellers because bidders are reducing their maximum bids or simply not crossing the Ts and dotting the Is. The only light in the tunnel at the moment is the fact that an increasing number of traditional auctioneers using the method (and it can be a good method of sale when used correctly) are not charging massive fees and that could kill the goose. Wait for the national media to pick this all up, which should be in three to four months time when the Covid news is hopefully on the back page.

From: Richard Copus 16 July 2020 10:14 AM

Richard Copus
Trust Zoopla!

From: Richard Copus 15 July 2020 10:20 AM

Richard Copus
What is it about Zoopla? Love their instant valuations! "Temporarily removing stamp duty for up to 6 months will cost the Treasury 1.3 billion pounds". Of course it won't. The Chancellor's not that daft. Even if their glass bowl is correct, the whole point of doing this is to raise billions in extra VAT and direct taxation from increased sales which will far outweigh stamp duty receipts.

From: Richard Copus 07 July 2020 09:50 AM

Richard Copus
The NAEA/ARLA Codes of Conduct, along with the RICS Rules are the best in the industry and action is taken regularly against member agents who breach them. By far the most sensible and easiest solution would be for the Government to annex these codes and make them mandatory for all agents rather than starting again unnecessarily. James, I think Propertymark is an equal player in all of this, but you can ask at the AGM at 2.30 today!

From: Richard Copus 01 July 2020 09:18 AM

Richard Copus
It would be interesting to know what proportion of these people are from Hong Kong rather than China following the news today. With the continual erosion of freedom in this former British colony together with the Government's announcement last month welcoming Hong Kong residents to the UK, I think there will be a lot of middle income families and brains looking to move here to live rather than invest sooner rather than later.

From: Richard Copus 30 June 2020 10:07 AM

Richard Copus
That's really good to hear, Will. Sorry if I was appearing to paint you with the same brush!

From: Richard Copus 08 June 2020 12:55 PM

Richard Copus
Another one joining the murky waters of high buyers' premiums to pay for estate agents to market their properties for them. Next year is going to be the one where this "modern" method of auction is hung out to dry. Complaints about malpractice are already lining up in solicitors' and compliance redress offices and it is only Covid 19 which has been delaying court action. An increasing number of complaints are already being settled out of court with agents wanting to keep their names out of the papers. It is no coincidence that the best auctioneers market clients' properties themselves.

From: Richard Copus 08 June 2020 09:56 AM

Richard Copus
Glad HMRC are satisfied with it Christopher, but that's the least of my concerns.

From: Richard Copus 27 May 2020 09:39 AM

Richard Copus
I can't think of anything better than an ex-copper or soldier selling my house. His/her experience of conveyancing will be a boon to making my transaction go smoothly and his/her knowledge of the construction of my property, my leasehold arrangements, the problems with the footpath that goes through my garden, the tiny cracks in my house which of course are not important because it was built in a former mining area, his/her knowledge of land law to help smooth over the conveyancing process and be able to talk with solicitors, will all make life easier. And of course not to mention their unique experience of telling people what to do. Hardly surprising our reputation is at rock bottom. Thank heavens the government will at long last be bringing in a minimum standard of competence to allow estate agents to practice. On an aside, the self-employed model which most of these people are advocating is likely to be viewed under recent HMRC guidelines as employment in all but name and be treated accordingly for tax purposes.

From: Richard Copus 26 May 2020 10:02 AM

Richard Copus
Something has to give at some point. Rightmove, and to a lesser extent Zoopla are perfectly set to sell direct to the consumer. This country is unique in Europe that estate agents are instructed to sell the vast majority of houses. As an industry, we rarely look at what is going on outside our borders and this blinkered attitude could be our downfall if we are not careful. If you take a look at France, our nearest neighbour and a favourite with British house hunters, Le Bon Coin is the equivalent of Rightmove with Se Loger coming up second similarly to Zoopla. Le Bon Coin is effectively a classified ads portal as well. Virtually everyone uses it when they are looking for a property to buy. British people who are looking to buy in France seem to love it. One said: "It is quick and simple. The owners posted details of their property on the site [easy to do with new quality mobile phone cameras] and we went around to visit it." A successful transaction ensued. All it needs is some national advertising from the Big Boy encouraging people to list direct and save money and there will be a flood of sellers by-passing us. This is where the art of negotiating comes in - probably the most important thing that agents do and our least marketed skill - particularly important in our legal system to keep sales together. Rightmove is an ogre and like all ogres is dangerous!

From: Richard Copus 20 May 2020 09:57 AM

Richard Copus
A typical British Government mish-mash (whichever party in power). The acid test for this is what PEOPLE will be allowed to do and from the advice issued yesterday they will still not be able to visit non-essential places therefore they could be prosecuted for viewing properties. Let's see this afternoon and tomorrow morning and keep our fingers crossed.

From: Richard Copus 11 May 2020 09:51 AM

Richard Copus
I'm sure you're right, Robert. And in any event, people are not permitted to view properties unless completion is imminent or they are about to move into rented.

From: Richard Copus 08 May 2020 09:47 AM

Richard Copus
I just called Liddington Bone to see if I could visit their office and the person I spoke to said that the office was closed to the public but they could do viewings on empty properties. End of story then.

From: Richard Copus 07 May 2020 16:18 PM

Richard Copus
You've completely ignored the fact that people are not allowed to travel to non-essential places, Edward and estate agents are non essential travel! Therefore visitors to the office can get prosecuted and some of them probably will with all the media coverage this firm has generated.

From: Richard Copus 07 May 2020 16:05 PM

Richard Copus
This needs to be looked at objectively rather than emotionally. The Council and the police see a grey area where the owners and staff (possibly family) are working from their own office with social distancing measures, sanitisation and PPE in place which is why they have not been able to object to the opening and why the police turned up yesterday and did nothing. However, the firm's Catch 22 situation is that it is crystal clear under the regulations that members of the public should not be travelling to and from places which are not for essential business and estate agency has been clearly classified as non-essential. Therefore these people could be prosecuted by the police under the legislation and the estate agent prosecuted for aiding and abetting (remember this is criminal not civil law) by encouraging visitors to break the law.

From: Richard Copus 07 May 2020 09:48 AM

Richard Copus
They seem to have taken down their Facebook page with all the adverse comments and they are not answering their telephone. Maybe they'll be closed tomorrow!

From: Richard Copus 06 May 2020 17:23 PM

Richard Copus
Catch 22 for them here: It may be possible to open the office to work in and I suspect that this is the reason the Council and the constabulary are intimating they can't do anything. However, anyone travelling to and from that business is going out of their home for non-essential work and they could be prosecuted. If Liddington Bone don't make it clear to their visitors that they are breaking the law, Liddingtons could be prosecuted for aiding and abetting. This is criminal not civil legislation.

From: Richard Copus 06 May 2020 17:12 PM

Richard Copus
For a moment I thought this article might be somewhere like Ireland - but Guernsey! The population of Guernsey is 67,000 (half the population of Exeter - one of England's smaller county towns). There have been 247 cases and 13 deaths (or 17 if you take into account 4 possibles). It is a tiny island and easy to cut off from everyone else. I bet they will not be allowing outsiders to move in without being quarantined or until a later time.

From: Richard Copus 29 April 2020 10:03 AM

Richard Copus
Hi Andrew. Long time no speak. I hope Lockdown is treating you not too badly! Bizarrely, I mentioned Salcombe as an exception in my draft but deleted it as I thought it best not to mention any individual area; you know Salcombe better than anyone and I appreciate your comments. However, estate agents down here have benefited as much from the sale of houses with residency restrictions as others, and the turnover of these tends to be higher than holiday homes although the commission received from the sale of them is less. I've sold a lot more ex-council houses in the South Hams than second homes over the years. Local builders and traders benefit from them also. Envy doesn't come into the argument and I have to say that Hilber is a bit of a bland internationalist who tends to ignore local economics even if a brilliant brain!

From: Richard Copus 21 April 2020 17:03 PM

Richard Copus
Living and working in Devon and an active part of the community, as are lots of us I see the problems with second homes every day. There are second home owners who buy to retire in a few years' time and there are those who use them for a large proportion of the year, but a large number of them are let out to holidaymakers who fill up at Tesco on the way down and never set foot in the the local village shop (where there is still one) and barbecue on the terrace rather than using the local pub (where there is still one) and these properties are left empty for much of the time. A generalisation I know, but when you see the number of primary schools in Devon and Cornwall which have closed due to the reduction in families living in the catchment area, you know there is a serious problem which needs fixing. Putting residence restrictions on new homes is no big deal to the market or to us as estate agents, because over 95% of properties in nearly all communities will not be affected at all and the new, permanent owners will bring a much needed injection of normality into the areas. I dispute the LSE figures which do not translate into what is happening on the ground and it does not make economic sense for them to say that this "has led to an increase in the price of existing homes as summer dwellers are competing for existing homes with local residents", because local residents cannot afford the existing homes - that is the whole point of the exercise!. There will be restrictions in perpetuity on these homes (much like the "Devon rule" which states that most ex-council houses can only be sold to people "living or working in Devon for the last 3 years") so this isn't a temporary fix that subsequent home owners can make money from. Prof Christian Hilber is a renowned Swiss economist who has worked in Germany and he spent much of his time in the USA before joining the LSE. He seems to have an internationalist approach to economics which tends to ignore local factors.

From: Richard Copus 21 April 2020 10:31 AM

Richard Copus
Good article Katie, but you don't live on Dartmoor! You live some miles away from its edge on the other side of Chudleigh in Teignbridge! That is unless you've forgotten to alter your Facebook page and other records to a new moorland address. Chudleigh is a lovely part of south Devon nestling below Exeter Forest and a stone's throw from the Teign Valley and is a delightful place to live.

From: Richard Copus 10 April 2020 10:04 AM

Richard Copus
Just tried out ValPak. It can't cope with my individual property (nothing special but an individual house like tens of thousands of others) and said it would put me in touch with an agent to arrange for a conventional market appraisal. So much for automated!

From: Richard Copus 03 April 2020 10:39 AM

Richard Copus
Every property is different. Automated valuations are only any good as a rough guide where there are a large number of similar properties in the same neighbourhood. Every agent is told on his first day of training that you cannot value a house accurately without seeing it and automated valuations are not proof of due diligence in a court. The vendor might just as well do the valuation himself online.

From: Richard Copus 03 April 2020 10:24 AM

Richard Copus
Interesting analysis. Cognitive bias has a sound footing. As long as we do not breach legislative guidelines on race etc or obviously spurious grounds, we are bound to employ candidates who think and work like us, even if they are of a slightly lower calibre than the computer says we should employ, because EASE of working in a comfortable and pleasant working environment in itself leads to increased efficiency and success. Having to work with someone who ticks all the theoretical boxes but grates is a recipe for problems. The best recruiter of people has to be people.

From: Richard Copus 20 March 2020 12:37 PM

Richard Copus
Hello Timea, These contracts are draconian. On the face of it, there is probably nothing you can do if the wording was clear in the contract and you caused the delay. This is simple law of contract and is why Trading Standards and The Property Ombudsman cannot do anything about the basic contracts. However, there are lots of cases where the "auctioneer" or agent are glossing over the terms to encourage buyers who have had no experience of this novel method of auction to sign up and this is what will probably be the next PPI scandal in a few years time. But, if the agents breached the terms of your contract by advertising the house for sale again BEFORE the end of your exclusivity term, they are probably in breach of contract and you may have a case. It is irrelevant that they thought you "might not have made the payment on time". You might have made it on time. If this is correct, simply write to them pointing out this fact and stating that is a breach of the contract they had with you and on this basis you would like the return of your reservation fee or you will take legal action against them. If you would like any advice, please contact me via Estate Agent Today.

From: Richard Copus 11 March 2020 15:10 PM

Richard Copus
Paul, Your Propertymark qualification should form part of the exam criteria. Check it out with Arbon House qualifications dept: 01926 496800.

From: Richard Copus 28 January 2020 17:50 PM

Richard Copus
About b.....y time! And no reason why "old timers" can't qualify. We know now that our brains don't deteriorate much until well into retirement age and the examinations planned will not be rocket science for those who have established industry experience (or anyone else for that matter).

From: Richard Copus 28 January 2020 11:56 AM

Richard Copus
I don't see how you can morally attach stamp duty to something which is basically taking out a form of mortgage later in life. Much equity release comprises lifetime mortgages which are very similar to standard mortgages for younger people, but where the interest rate is commonly around double, but with the advantage that the borrower has the option of whether to repay the interest yearly or let it accrue over a period. If you love your home which you have lived in for decades and watched your family grow up in and is part of you, why should you be pressurised into leaving it when you only have 10% - 20% of your life left to live?

From: Richard Copus 23 January 2020 11:00 AM

Richard Copus
Better get the instructions in quick before Fulham bans boards!

From: Richard Copus 22 January 2020 09:36 AM

Richard Copus
How pathetic. Let's change North Street because Lord North was the worst prime minster in British history and lost us the American colonies, Mafeking Terrace because it brings back memories of atrocities against the Boers and puts people off, Dresden Road in Highgate because of the unconscientiousable blanket bombing of the city which deters German buyers and Shipman Road in Leicester, Market Weighton, Forest Hill, et al because he was the worst serial killer in Britain in recent times. Just wait for Johnston Road in 5 years time - and there's quite a lot of those around!

From: Richard Copus 16 December 2019 10:37 AM

Richard Copus
The Modern Method in a "comfort zone"! What a joke - just read the blogs.

From: Richard Copus 22 November 2019 15:12 PM

Richard Copus
If they even remotely suggest that they will carry out stamp duty reforms if they get re-elected, expect housing market standstill for at least a year and a half if Boris wins because it will be one of the last things they get around to! As agents it would be best for us if they just kept schtum about the domestic market. Bizarrely, Labour's policy will aid stability the most because it leaves things as they are for 97% of homes.

From: Richard Copus 22 November 2019 15:10 PM

Richard Copus
All the more reason to use traditional auction wherever suitable. All the info (bar survey) upfront, 5 to 7 weeks marketing, exchange of contracts on the fall of the gavel and completion 4 weeks thereafter. No fuss, no nonsense, no delays and a tried and tested method for well over a century.

From: Richard Copus 20 November 2019 09:33 AM

Richard Copus
Bound to come with agents all over ignoring the board regs, and councils can use the excuse that everyone knows what is on the market and where the properties are located these days with the internet and sat nav. My bet this will be rolled out nationwide within five to six years.

From: Richard Copus 06 November 2019 10:30 AM

Richard Copus
Race to the bottom! Now more than ever agents should be thinking about how to go upmarket and secure the lucrative fees at the top end.

From: Richard Copus 25 October 2019 10:25 AM

Richard Copus
I keep scratching my head on this one. What's new? I and more than a few agents have been doing these for years, albeit not regularly. Of the two last year, one sale exchanged and completed fine, on the other the buyer took a calculated risk and could not exchange with the vendor keeping the few thousand pound deposit - it could have been the other way around. Nothing like adding a load of bureaucracy to a system which is already tried and tested and making out that it's something new.

From: Richard Copus 21 October 2019 10:27 AM

Richard Copus
As Clive, says - auctioneers have been doing this for decades and with more documentation than is proposed. For registered land (which is 99% of transactions) most solicitors who know the drill can prepare a pack in a week to ten days without any problems. So no big deal - except conveyancers who have never dealt with auction procedure will have to go on a course to know what they are doing!

From: Richard Copus 21 October 2019 10:20 AM

Richard Copus
The I Am Sold guide is a watered down version of what agents should be saying. It is full of holes which the lawyers will doubtless have great fun filling in as time progresses. The most important thing that they do not emphasise is that the seller's home will almost definitely sell for materially less than it would otherwise because of the high buyer's premium. Sad to see well respected auctioneer portal EIG supporting this. Understandably a money-spinner for them.

From: Richard Copus 03 October 2019 15:18 PM

Richard Copus
Ah! The equity release scam! Come on EAT - we needs the full works done on this one.

From: Richard Copus 18 September 2019 09:41 AM

Richard Copus
Probably not. There will still be money in the pot from the 15%ish buyers who don't exchange. The interesting thing is going to be how they do their marketing. Many of the existing outfits rely on their sub agents, who are experienced estate agents, although not usually auctioneers to carry out the marketing for them. If they want to carry on using this model, they'll have to charge the vendors something. Most of them are not geared up to do it all themselves.

From: Richard Copus 30 August 2019 13:49 PM

Richard Copus
This is a good start to clean up the system. There is definitely a place for conditional auctions as an effective method of sale and eliminating buyers' fees when exchange happens within the agreed timescale in a big step in the right direction. How this will affect companies like I am Sold who need the high fees to split between themselves and their marketing agents remains to be seen.

From: Richard Copus 30 August 2019 09:40 AM

Richard Copus
Let's wait and see. The phrase "silent majority" may never have seemed so apt! And Corbyn will not be leader of the Labout Party in a few months time, that's virtually guaranteed!

From: Richard Copus 29 August 2019 12:26 PM

Richard Copus
Aux armes citoyens! Formez vos bataillons. No foreign buyer in their right mind is going to go on a spending spree in London until they have more than a rough idea where all this is going to pan out. I'm betting on membership of EEA within 6 months after a general election in which Labour, the Lib Dems and the Scot Nats hold significantly larger numbers of MPs together than the Cons. Out of EU but sensibly in an organisation where we have access to the single market but are not beholden to the ECJ and can still make our own trade deals. A sensible British compromise the art of which we seem to have lost just now.

From: Richard Copus 29 August 2019 09:32 AM

Richard Copus
I won't go through all the cons of the Modern Method yet again and bore everyone to tears. Apart from the fact that one of the providers is almost bound to come unstuck legally within the next year with the subsequent media fall-out, the fact is that an increasing number of traditional auctioneers are now providing the Conditional Auction method (for that is all the "Modern" method actually is) at a fraction of the charge to buyers and are - importantly - where the buyer's fee is high, including some or all of it as part of the purchase price of the property if exchange takes place. If that catches on, there will be no place for the likes of I AM Sold who will no longer be able to make a profit as they have to have estate agents on the ground to market for them and split the fee. The "Modern" Method has been a very successful marketing tool for estate agents in a difficult market place but is a flash in the pan which is likely to end with fat on the floor!

From: Richard Copus 14 August 2019 10:05 AM

Richard Copus
Hello Julie, Ask I Am Sold or Leaders (whichever company signed the contract) in writing what their complaints procedure is. They will have to meet and listen to your complaint. If you are not satisfied, check what redress scheme they belong to (probably The Property Ombudsman) and make a complaint to them. You can also complain to Trading Standards at Powys who oversee the industry in England & Wales and go to the press. I don't know the full facts of your case, I Am Sold may well be within the terms of your contract with them and this is the main problem with this new method of sale. It needs more complaints from people like you to stamp out the iniquitous practice of high buyers' premiums.

From: Richard Copus 18 July 2019 10:10 AM

Richard Copus
Hello Christine, Trading Standards and the Property Ombudsman are monitoring this method of sale at the moment. If you feel that you have been misled, I advise you to contact Andrew Coulter or James Munro at Trading Standards in Powys (which covers the whole of England & Wales in this respect) and the deputy ombudsman at The Property Ombudsman in Salisbury. Best wishes, Richard

From: Richard Copus 11 July 2019 11:23 AM

Richard Copus
Interesting slant this time on this ever-running saga! "Quicker than having to wait for the firm's next auction"? If the sale is important there is nothing to stop one having individual auctions to fit in with the needs of the client/property -- there's no need to wait for the next grand one. I'd be interested to know what the buyer's premium was compared with what the vendor's premium would have been. High buyers' premiums always affect the amount of a bid and can reduce the number of bidders.

From: Richard Copus 27 June 2019 11:24 AM

Richard Copus
Not new. This has been around for some 15 years or so since The Law Society moved that lock-in/lock-out agreements were collateral to the main contract and not separate ones which would fall foul of the LPA single contract rule. Gazeal and Phil - stop making out that this is your baby!

From: Richard Copus 27 June 2019 11:15 AM

Richard Copus
Don't forget the stamp duty payable on the buyers' premiums, all helping to reduce the sale price. The online method will be going viral in the national press soon - await the fall-out!

From: Richard Copus 21 June 2019 14:44 PM

Richard Copus
This is what the majority of auctioneers have been waiting for. The so-called "modern" method is a can of worms. Only last week I was solicited by another new group setting up a franchise across the whole of the country. The headline was: "Do you Want to Earn at least £200,000 a year?" encouraging all and sundry. I went along with the introduction as an interested party a to join up and entered into correspondence with the person who was leading the campaign. I asked whether the buyer's premium was added to the purchase for stamp duty purposes as required under revised HMRC rules, and I was told "no" in writing. I then asked if sellers were told that the amount they might receive for their property would likely be less if the buyer's premium was high and that this would put off some bidders and the answer was that they have had a very successful year with high prices being reached (avoiding the question). I was then cut off with the curt comment: "This model is probably not for you". This company is to hold a meeting for any estate agents who are interested in earning the amount they are promising. I hope they get their act together quickly for the sake of all the potential franchisees! I don't think this will be the last we hear from TPOS on the subject.

From: Richard Copus 24 May 2019 09:43 AM

Richard Copus
We need to remember that the Scottish legal system is completely different to the system in England & Wales which evolved through Common Law. The easiest way to deal with the problem is to follow what different legislatures have done in English Law countries (most of The Commonwealth - and the US persuasively) which does not include HIPS in most of the countries. In some Australian states, contracts are exchanged before the survey and before other inspections have been done and there is a cooling off period during which the seller cannot accept any other offers but the buyer can withdraw only if there are any adverse reports. The average time between offer accepted to completion is 42 to 46 weeks. In many American states, once an offer has been accepted there is a binding, written contract and between 1% to 3% of the purchase price is paid. There are certain contingencies such as awaiting receipt of the mortgage offer and having a survey carried out, but the period allowed for these contingencies is short, so many inspections are carried out before an offer is made (one of the few similarities with Scotland). The fall through rate is low and the time from offer acceptance to completion is slightly less than in Australia.

From: Richard Copus 16 May 2019 10:22 AM

Richard Copus
"Buy properties at a fixed price" and "go online and purchase at any time". This is NOT an auction! Bet the buyer's premium is high. Thank heavens Trading Standards and TPOS are now seriously looking at these online models to bring them into line. I received a 'phone call from a call centre (or similar) a few weeks ago with the introduction asking if I wanted to increase my income stream - they then introduced themselves as an online conditional auction outfit and explained how easy it was to gain an instruction when the seller paid nothing and the massive buyer's premium would be split between me and the "auctioneer". No talk about the pitfalls for buyer and seller, simply the vision of ££££££s floating in the sky ready to be grabbed!

From: Richard Copus 10 May 2019 09:57 AM

Richard Copus
How boring. It has been a standard clause since whenever that there must be "vacant possession on completion" which is exactly what it says and can be and is enforced. What exactly is "clean and tidy" is subjective and would be a lawyer's paradise to argue (which is possibly why it has been suggested).

From: Richard Copus 29 April 2019 09:22 AM

Richard Copus
Have I been transported back to the 1970s? Get rid of Corbyn you Labour members and let's have a sensible social democrat Labour party again. With all the houses now being built (about a quarter of a century too late) we should start having some sort of equilibium of supply and demand in the next half a dozen years or so; let's just increase the number of smaller terraced homes at the expense of even more 4 bed, detached "executive" homes. All will then be well in the state of Albion.

From: Richard Copus 11 April 2019 09:20 AM

Richard Copus
Almost as close as Brexit! Having passed relevant exams and courses definitely does help me to gain instructions, especially the more valuable and unusual properties where proof of specialist knowledge seems to be valued more.

From: Richard Copus 10 April 2019 12:03 PM

Richard Copus
The growth of equity release is not necessarily bad news for transactions. A large number of equity releasers are using the system to pay off their interest only mortgages, therefore negating the "time bomb" that The Times wrote about in their front page headlines a few years back. Also, new competition in the market has meant that some equity releases are little more than interest only mortages for "mature" people which you can pay back when you want and if you want and use to port over to a replacement property on the payment of a valuation fee and reasonable admin fee only, making it easier and cheaper for some of these people to move than those with conventional mortgages tied around their necks. With fixed interest rates at 4.5% or less in some cases, it is hardly surprising that equity release is becoming more popular, but there are rogues out their selling the worst deals to unsuspecting pensioners - the next front page news perhaps?

From: Richard Copus 03 April 2019 10:17 AM

Richard Copus
At last a new entrant who is making the buyer's premium part of the purchase price for the property! If the FULL legal pack is available when the seller makes his/her offer, as it is with traditional auctions, then this is a great and positive step forward. If it is not a full pack, then there's not much point in the model. This is still a private treaty transaction by legal definition and to suggest otherwise is leaving yourself open to litigation if something goes wrong.

From: Richard Copus 21 March 2019 15:38 PM

Richard Copus
It might be a good idea for agents to wait until TPOS has come out soon with its revised Code of Practice and Trading Standards have spoken before more agents jump on the bandwagon. There have been a lot of complaints from bidders and prospective bidders who object to being forced to pay such high premiums (which are high to pay for both the auctioneer and the estate agent's services). As I have said before: 1. High buyers' premiums reflect in lower prices being obtained than would otherwise be the case; 2. High buyers' premiums reduce the number of bidders and can lead to the reserve not being reached and the property selling at a lower figure than envisaged post auction; 3. Some sellers are not being told the above clearly on valuation and/or instruction and are being encouraged to sell by low or no vendors' fees. 4. Some buyers feel they are being forced to pay these fees or they will lose their chosen property; 4. The high premium if the property does not reach exchange is normally split between the auctioneer and selling agents solely (3% plus each usually). Conditional auctions are an excellent way to buy and sell property in certain circumstances and are definitely an acceptable alternative method of auction, but are a licence to print money in some cases at the moment. a bit of tweaking is well overdue.

From: Richard Copus 18 March 2019 12:40 PM

Richard Copus
Slightly misleading figures. Many lawyers argue that conditional auctions are not auctions all but a form of tender because contracts are not exchanged on the fall of the gavel and auction packs with all the information required for a buyer to exchange contracts and for the beneficial interest in the property to pass to the buyer are not always provided at this stage. To this add the fact that there is increasing lack of confidence from the house-buying public in this system and that Trading Standards/TPOS is likely to come down heavily on some of the practices before the end of this year, then this might be the first and last time IAMSOLD will be able to imply that they are the top independent "auctioneer".

From: Richard Copus 05 March 2019 09:48 AM

Richard Copus
Hello Amanda. Please give me a call and I can point you in the right direction for redress. If you contact Estate Agent Today they will give you my contact details. Richard Copus

From: Richard Copus 04 March 2019 12:48 PM

Richard Copus
As I have mentioned before, the TPOS, Powys trading standards and their legal department are currently looking into the so-called modern method. Their main concerns are as follows: 1. The auctioneers/sub-agents taking instructions, whilst negotiating a low or no vendor's fee are not making it clear that such a high buyer's premium will adversely affect to a material degree the amount a buyer is prepared to pay for the property and they will receive less than they would do with none or a nominal buyer's admin charge payable as is traditionally the case; 2. The auctioneers/sub agents are not making it clear that some would-be bidders will not participate in auctions with high buyer's fees (see blogs online to see what people really think about this and their reactions) which means that there will often be fewer bidders resulting in a lower price being obtained and that the property is less likely to reach the reserve price. 3. They are concerned that the non-refundable buyer's fee is extortionate in many cases and is clearly high to pay for the non-auctioneer sub-agents who often carry out all the marketing. 4. They are concerned that buyers feel forced into paying these high premiums or they will lose the property they have set their hearts on. So far, there would appear to be no contractual bar to what "modern" method are doing. However, from a practice viewpoint it is clear that (1) and (2) above are not being complied with in most cases when taking instructions which is a breach of the Provision of Information Regulations and they are looking at whether the amount of the buyer's premiums should be reduced to a more fair and acceptable level. If there are any solicitors reading this, please could you get in touch with me via Estate Agent Today. PS: Property Pundit: There's nothing wrong with online auctions, we all do it, just the way it is being done. Conditional auctions run alongside Traditional auctions all the time, it is just the way the "modern" method (which should more accurately be called the "alternative" method) runs which is in question. The elephant in the room is: Why do Modern Method auctioneers need to get others to gain their instructions when traditional auctioneers have no problem doing it themselves?

From: Richard Copus 27 February 2019 10:14 AM

Richard Copus
I don't believe in making political comments in these forums, but these are unprecedented times. Brexit is causing unprecedented damage to lots of things. Hardly a day goes by without us losing more inward investment. It is interesting talking to many people over the age of 70 now, many of who voted Leave as an automatic reaction, who sheepishly admit that the sun set on the British Empire over half a century ago and they didn't really understand exactly how important harmonisation of trade and business is. Bring on the People's Vote and let 16 year old's have the vote - they have their whole lives ahead of them.

From: Richard Copus 19 February 2019 10:15 AM

Richard Copus
What a load of rubbish. Ok, I might have grown some grey hair over the last few years, but most of the dinosaurs have gone after the re-organisation of the Association which has resulted in increased membership, almost entirely from practitioners under 35 years of age. Katie Griffin was not exactly ancient at 40 something and the president-elect is in her thirties. The new apprenticeship scheme is bring snapped up by a lot of companies and the education department runs some excellent courses (although it does little to encourage estate agents to move up market with most of ts courses now mainstream only). Fake news!

From: Richard Copus 18 February 2019 09:57 AM

Richard Copus
More and more local authorities are going down this route because it's easy and makes them popular with their council tax payers. We've only ourselves to blame for not obeying the board legislation. At this rate estate agents boards will be an endangered species in 10 years' time.

From: Richard Copus 15 February 2019 10:18 AM

Richard Copus
Hopefully all the negative doom mongers of a couple of years ago who seemed determined to discourage the success of the only new entrant into the market who had any change of breaking the duopoly will be proved wrong.

From: Richard Copus 06 February 2019 09:45 AM

Richard Copus
Nothing to do with the stamp duty reforms (outside London)which broadly make it cheaper to move. Just nobody in their right mind wants to move unless they have to in these uncertain times.

From: Richard Copus 04 February 2019 09:35 AM

Richard Copus
OK La La! What a ridiculous press release. £7,000 is not a lot of money when you are dealing with a house or flat with a complicated title, have problems interconnected with a sale, are dealing with a rural property or are having to spend hours doing PB's sale chasing for them. We really have reached rock bottom as an industry when the fee means everything. If we have a cliff edge Brexit, the next few years will be not very good at all and that will sort out the men from the boys and the women from the girls. My guess is that we will then be left with a load of downmarket agents fighting for the lower end of the market until they go bust and a good number of stable of mid to high market agents trading on their reputation and/or specialist knowledge. About half of agents will disappear for good, unfortunately some very good established ones who will have been squeezed by the likes of PB and La La.

From: Richard Copus 01 February 2019 09:47 AM

Richard Copus
The system is already in place to do this. It just need tweaking. Two clients of mine have recently entered into lock-in/lock-out reservation agreements to reserve the properties they wanted and paid £8,000 to secure the sales which formed part of the purchase price and was treated as collateral to the main contract so that it did not fall foul of the Law of Property Act. On one of them the buyer dropped out at the last minute and the £8,000 compensated my vendor client for time wasted etc. It just needs to be made mandatory that the vendor enters into a recipricol agreement with the buyer and that there is certainty where the money is going to come from when either buyer or seller does not have the readies to put down. Many countries that practice English Law (about 20% of the world's population) have some sort of similar system in operation.

From: Richard Copus 24 January 2019 10:11 AM

Richard Copus
In reponse to Lousie Jeffries: Louise, you seem to have completely missed the point. Traditional auctions and conditional auctions charging fair fees do exactly what you claim and traditional auctions which are open to the public (that is why they are called "public auctions") are the only guarantee of transparency. It is the fee which is the argument here and we all know that the reason for the high fee is to pay for the plethora of non-auctioneer estate agents who market the properties and use their share to boost their income.

From: Richard Copus 22 November 2018 10:21 AM

Richard Copus
This was always a likely scenario. HMRC and the Property Ombudsman did exactly the same thing a few years ago with informal tenders (also known as "sealed bids") where many London estate agents were making buyers pay high premiums (but not nearly as high as £5,000+ in most cases). The TPO Code of Conduct was altered and is still in place and used as Best Practice by other redress schemes. It reads as follows: "Current HMRC policy is that the chargeable transaction (monies or monies worth) for a land transaction is what has been given (either directly or indirectly) in order to acquire the subject-matter of the transaction, by the purchaser or a person connected with him. This includes fees which have been paid in order to acquire the property. This means that whatever the buyer pays, it will form of the purchase price for the property and will be included in his liability for stamp duty." for those who want chapter and verse, this is Clause4(iv) of the TPO Guidance for Agents and is emphasised in Clause2(v-vi). As conditional auctions are legally options to purchase or tenders, this is a natural progression and the easiest way to redress the balance as it did for sealed bids.

From: Richard Copus 22 November 2018 10:14 AM

Richard Copus
This was always a likely scenario. HMRC and The Property Ombudsman did exactly the same thing a few years ago with informal tenders (so called "sealed bids") where many London estate agents were making buyers pay high premiums (but not nearly as high as £5,000+ in most cases). The TPO Code of Conduct was altered and is still in place and used as Best Practice by other redress schemes. It reads as follows: "Current HMRC policy is that the chargeable transaction (monies or monies worth) for a land transaction is what has been given (either directly or indirectly) in order to acquire the subject-matter of the transaction, by the purchaser or a person connected with him. This includes fees which have to be paid in order to acquire the property. This means that whatever the buyer pays, it will form part of thep[urchase price for the property and will be included in his liability for stamp duty". For those who wants chapter and verse, this is Clause 4(iv) of the TPO Guidance for Agents and is emphasised in Clause2(v-vi). As conditional auctions are legally options to purchase or tenders, this is a natural progression and the easiest way to redress the balance as it did for sealed bids.

From: Richard Copus 22 November 2018 10:02 AM

Richard Copus
The Homeowners Alliance is quite correct. The extremely high commission paid by purchasers under most of these online methods is unconscionable. It affects the amount the vendor will achieve for his property, it reduces bidders and sometimes means that a property does not sell because it does not quite reach its reserve. Most vendors are not told this when they sign up to a no fee contract and they are not told that the primary duty of care of the agent falls to the buyer and not the seller in these circumstances. It is hardly surprising that Trading Standards are currently looking into online models of auction. There is definitely a place for online auctions and they will grow but not in this way.

From: Richard Copus 15 November 2018 09:28 AM

Richard Copus
The Modern Method of auction smells very badly and it is hardly surprising that trading standards are currently looking into it. The sooner it dies a death the better. There is nothing wrong with online auctions in principal and we are currently setting up an online auction method where the buyer's premium is reduced dramatically with a proportion of that reduced pre-exchange deposit going to the seller in the event of non-exchange rather than to the plethora of non-auctioneer sub-agents who have multiplied like locusts since the Modern method was set up. The premium that the buyer has to pay under the The Modern model is extortionate and it is clear from surfing the net that many bidders reduce their bids accordingly or simply don't bid at all. The vendor is not told that these premiums may reduce the maximum price obtainable for their property, is not told that they reduce the number of bidders, is not told that the reduced interest may result in their property not selling and is not told that the auctioneer's legal duty of care shifts from the seller to the buyer if the seller is paying nothing.

From: Richard Copus 31 October 2018 12:01 PM

Richard Copus
It is only in London and one or two other hotspots where movement up and down has been affected, because 90% of the market elsewhere has seen a reduction in stamp duty rates across the board. As I said, the answer is to treat London. as a special case

From: Richard Copus 19 October 2018 18:30 PM

Richard Copus
Our general tax regime is NOT high in this country, that's one of the reasons why our public services are so stretched compared to other European countries. It is where that tax is collected from that is the problem. The reformed stamp duty regime has reduced the cost of moving house for most people in England and Wales and we must not forget that. It is London which has suffered most because the high value of all its properties puts it in the higher end bracket (with a few other hot spots are similarly affected). One can argue that one of the main points of this (Conservative not Labour) legislation was to temper the high end to make properties more affordable, but it is more complicated than that as those of us in the industry all know and it is time that London had its own stamp duty regime to take into account its special position as a revenue raising, global centre.

From: Richard Copus 19 October 2018 09:48 AM

Richard Copus
Back to estate agency offices on the fourth floor of a Victorian or Georgian building in the town centre then, where rents are a fraction of ground floor premises. It worked well for many top agents half a century ago. Back to the future?

From: Richard Copus 11 October 2018 09:42 AM

Richard Copus
Same with online auctioneers who charge the buyer only. You only have to google "modern method of auction" to see how disparaging prospective bidders are of this method and how they reduce their bids substantially to cover the extortionate commission they are paying or simply decide not to go to the auction. Hardly helping the seller and hardly surprising trading standards are onto it.

From: Richard Copus 14 September 2018 10:04 AM

Richard Copus
"We still work for the seller in the usual way". Sorry. You don't. Because the seller pays nothing and the buyer pays you, your primary duty of care is to your buyer and you need to make sure he buys the house at the lowest price possble price.

From: Richard Copus 14 September 2018 09:51 AM

Richard Copus
The UK won't be a safe haven if confidence goes. We've already dropped from fifth to sixth strongest economy in the world in the last 12 months. The just over 50% voting Brexiteers are very much like the similar percentage of estate agents in the early 1990s who said everything was hunky dory when the housing market was up s**t creek with a plank for a paddle.

From: Richard Copus 14 September 2018 09:47 AM

Richard Copus
This is very much a London problem with a few other high price hotspots dotted around other areas of the country. For the vast majority of home buyers the reformed stamp duty regime has led to substantial savings. I moved last year and paid around 20% less stamp duty than I would have done under the old system. It's only above £860,000 that the regime starts becoming punitive, but many people would argue that this is what the reform was all about. I appreciate that London has lots of problems at the moment but, like many other city states, it should be treated as a special case.

From: Richard Copus 22 August 2018 10:02 AM

Richard Copus
Two points about this "new" model. 1. The purchaser pays a whacking premium to purchase the property to cover what the vendor would traditionally pay. Because this sum is substantial and much more than a normal buyer's premium of a few hundred pounds, he or she reduces his/her bid accordingly and the vendor often receives less for the property than they would have done if they had paid the auctioneer's fee. On a property that is difficult to sell the reserve might not be quite reached. One only has to go online to see comments on this practice and people actually boycotting this method which reduces the pool of bidders. 2.Because the vendor pays nothing and the buyer everything, the primary duty of care of the auctioneer passes to the buyer and not the seller. Trading standards are currently looking into both these points and whether auctioneers using this method should state in writing that using it may result in a lower price being achievable for the property and that the relationship with the client is different.

From: Richard Copus 15 August 2018 09:56 AM

Richard Copus
Saying that a further reduction in the value of the pound would automatically encourage more investment from foreign purchasers is like the Brexiteers who said that the EU would be bound to come to a good deal because of the loss of economic benefit to themselves. The latter completely ignored the fact that the European ideal takes precedence over economics for most EU members. In the latter case here, Mr Abrahmsohn completely ignores the fact that the UK's loss of stature which will have an equally adverse effect through a loss of confidence in us. Brexit is more than pounds, euros and pence.

From: Richard Copus 08 August 2018 14:37 PM

Richard Copus
I agree totally, Richard. The thing NOT to be is the "average agent" who can't "pull away from the crowd". Unfortunately most estate agents follow the average route and try to be everything to all people. The thought of specialising in certain types of property, for example frightens many because to do so means turning away other instructions which goes against the grain. My guess is that in 10 years time we will see a third of the number of high street agents that there are at the moment (and that will still be more than a handful in any one town or city, unlike banks), with most of those specialising or thriving on their established, personal reputations. Very positive, very rewarding and a very satisfying way of doing business for those who make the grade.

From: Richard Copus 14 May 2018 09:19 AM

Richard Copus
Guide prices are a nightmare for purchasers. I have had more than one applicant refuse to look at properties with guide prices because they have made offers previously which have been accepted only to find that they have lost the house to someone who has offered more and been told by the agent that they have not been "gazumped" because it is a guide only and not an asking price. Any agent worth their salt will have a good idea the value of the property they are to market and will ask slightly above market value to encourage buyers and achieve as close as possible to that price. House hunters understand and accept this. For houses which are difficult to value they should be offered for sale by informal tender (sealed bids) or auctioned. I have just moved for the first time in ages and was one of the growing number of people who looked at properties with guide prices as a last resort. When house sellers realise that guide prices are reducing their marketplace they will start to disappear.

From: Richard Copus 03 April 2018 12:52 PM

Richard Copus
When there are hardly any houses for sale it isn't really surprising prices are holding up because those who have to move will pay what they have to in order to do so. For "hotspots" read the "warm corners" which are keeping our heads above water!

From: Richard Copus 14 February 2018 10:05 AM

Richard Copus
Lock in/Lock out agreements have been around for a while since the courts decided that they were contracts ancillary to the main contract and not separate contracts in their own right which would foul of the Law of Property Act. Solicitors use them where both parties agree to pay a preliminary deposit into (usually) a solicitor's client account as stakeholders. Many other countries which practice English Law (about a sixth of the world's population) have amended their LPAs to make similar methods mandatory which has reduced the time between sale agreed and exchange of contracts and the number of fall throughs dramatically and there's no reason why we cannot do this in England & Wales. Well done for Settled to highlight their benefits (even if they are making out it is their idea!).

From: Richard Copus 29 November 2017 09:42 AM

Richard Copus
Just rang Sealed Bid and told them I was thinking of using them to sell my house as it seemed a no nonsense sales method. Firstly they asked if the house was vacant. I said no and they said they were only dealing with vacant possession properties at the moment and were targeting developers. They said they would be looking at conventional homeowners in 6 to 9 months time. I then asked them how long they marketed their properties for and they confirmed 3 weeks. They said that exchange of contracts happened at the end of that period. Apart from the fact that 3 weeks is not nearly long enough to introduce prospective purchasers to a home and for them to be in a position to exchange contracts and to be certain that the best price has been obtained, the courts accept that one month is the minimum period to prove full marketing has taken place, so this could open up disputes on executors' and contentious sales. Very friendly guy and a good idea in principle (anything to get away from conventional private treaty sales has to be a good thing) but am not sure how it will progress.

From: Richard Copus 21 November 2017 10:00 AM

Richard Copus
If this does carry any weight, just wait for the first case of a buyer against a seller direct for breach of CPRs. The subsequent publicity will make people think twice about selling privately.

From: Richard Copus 10 November 2017 09:58 AM

Richard Copus
This is already in place and accepted by solicitors. Generally called "lock/out agreements" or "collateral contracts" they are legally binding. To make these mandatory would be relatively simple and solve a lot of problems, but I would suggest a percentage of the agreed sale/purchase price rather than an exact figure because £1,000 might be a material figure at the bottom of the market but petty cash to someone buying or selling for £1 million plus.

From: Richard Copus 01 November 2017 12:04 PM

Richard Copus
Interesting one. Banning boards would benefit the smaller agents who would no longer be swallowed up visually by the big boys and there is probably much less need for boards now with sat nav etc to help people find properties. However, we all know house hunters (including me on my first purchase) just happening to see a house from a for sale board on a general weekend out house-hunting and how about rural areas where boards are a godsend when you're lost in winding lanes with no reception. On balance Christian, I think you are a turkey voting unnecessarily for Christmas! If local authorities enforced board legislation there would be half the number of boards than there are now and everybody would be happy?

From: Richard Copus 05 September 2017 12:42 PM

Richard Copus
Can we have a second article on this please headed: "STAMP DUTY KEEPS MARKET FLOWING OUTSIDE LONDON". The stamp duty reforms have saved the majority of house buyers thousands of pounds each and helped to stop the general residential property market in England and Wales falling into recession. For those buying houses between £250,000 and £500,000 in particular the savings are substantial and that is the average price range in many areas outside the capital. I am in the process of buying a house myself just under the £400,000 mark. My stamp duty would have been nearly £12,000 under the old regime; it is now a little over £9,000, and I am just one of many homebuyers satisfied that the Government has seen a little bit of common sense for once by creating the progressive stamp duty regime that those in the industry have been crying out for some time. Yes, the top end is extortionately high, but perhaps a bit of rebalancing was long overdue and London should now be looked at as a special case as our city state develops more and more as an individual entity out of kilter with the rest of the UK.

From: Richard Copus 09 August 2017 10:23 AM

Richard Copus
It is quite frightening the lack of knowledge of some practitioners in our industry. None of us know everything, but the system that George Barkes refers to has been in place for donkey's years and is the fourth method of sale - Formal Tender. This method is used more than occasionally and is very effective and is exactly what Mr Barkes is asking for. I do one or two formal tenders a year myself. The property is offered for sale just as it would be by informal tender (otherwise known as "sealed bids") or by auction with a finite date for offers to be received. A tender pack, almost identical to an auction pack which contains everything required to exchange contracts is provided by the vendor's solicitor. Prospective buyers sign the contract, enclose a bankers draft or equivalent for 10% of their offer and the seller then chooses whom he wishes to sell to. The successful offeror has his bankers' draft banked, the others have theirs returned and contracts are exchanged. It's as simple as that! Completion is 28 days later or by arrangement. One of the reasons people choose this means of sale is that it provides the certainty Mr Barkes wants and the vendor can choose who to sell to, which he can't do in the auction room. No need to change anything, we just need to look around more at the other methods of sale which have been around for ages and are not used as much as they could be. Richard Copus

From: Richard Copus 13 June 2017 11:19 AM

Richard Copus
Don't forget, this is Scotland, not England or Wales. The TPOS Guidance for Agents, as amended, section 5 (iv) states quite categorically: "Current HMRC policy is that the chargeable consideration for a land transaction is what has been given in order to acquire the subject -matter of the transaction, by the purchaser or a person connected with him. THIS INCLUDES FEES WHICH HAVE TO BE PAID IN ORDER TO ACQUIRE THE PROPERTY. THIS MEANS THAT WHATEVER THE BUYER PAYS IT WILL FORM PART OF THE PURCHASE PRICE OF THE PROPERTY AND IT WILL BE INCLUDED IN HIS LIABILITY FOR STAMP DUTY. This is why the amoral habit of charging both buyer and seller has somehat diappeared down here over the last 12 months.

From: Richard Copus 23 May 2017 14:51 PM

Richard Copus
It would be nice to think the parties are going to be interested in housing issues over the next couple of months, but this is a Brexit election, pure and simple. If May's majority increases dramatically, we are going to be in for a very hard Brexit indeed backed by UKIP and Tory right-wingers and we'll have a very bumpy ride. But it is more than just wishful thinking that the 48% might scupper May's intention and we will have a mish-mash alliance of the centre and left followed by another referendum, when the result will be 51.9%: 48.1% in favour of remaining in the EU! What a mess!

From: Richard Copus 19 April 2017 11:48 AM

Richard Copus
Smile please. The whole point of an auction type pack is that it is exchange ready and that means exchange can happen immedaiately. Just like it does in the auction room on the fall of the gavel. There is nothing that a buyer's solicitor has to do except check through the paperwork which can usually be done in a couple of hours.

From: Richard Copus 16 March 2017 10:08 AM

Richard Copus
There's no point doing anything unless ALL the information is provided up front. When I put my house on to the market which will be soon (start queuing up now!), I shall be providing an exchange-ready pack, almost identical to an auction pack, but with the addition of a full building survey and two independent valuations. The buyer can take it or leave it!

From: Richard Copus 15 March 2017 11:48 AM

Richard Copus
Why no stamp duty reform? Because it HAS been reformed . Nothing's perfect, but the changes are working alright outside London and a very welcome relief to the old, rigid system. The average home buyer in England and Wales is paying less than he and she did beforehand.

From: Richard Copus 10 March 2017 14:18 PM

Richard Copus
Straight out of a Conservative guru's mouth - BUILD MORE COUNCIL HOUSES! Such a straightforward answer to a problem which has been made far more complicated than it is, mainly because of political posturing and dogma over the last 3 decades. But DON'T sell them off! Local authority housing should be there for those who cannot afford to get onto the housing ladder; also for those who aspire to getting onto the housing ladder who can then save to afford a mortgage, move out, and leave their council house vacant for another lower wage owner. Back to the future would also stabilise house values and make them more affordable. A win win situation for all.

From: Richard Copus 10 March 2017 11:18 AM

Richard Copus
Section 5s of the TPOS Code of Practice refers to "a commission fee". Quote unquote. This is in one and the same breath, so I think trying to differentiate between a percentage commission and a fixed fee for services of a given description is going to be very difficult to substantiate.

From: Richard Copus 03 March 2017 11:32 AM

Richard Copus
If solicitors got rid of their adversarial mentalities and championed legally binding lock-in lock-out agreements, which have been very slow to get off the ground but are nonetheless used occasionally, then none of this would matter and sales would stick.

From: Richard Copus 14 February 2017 09:42 AM

Richard Copus
When I started as a junior neg in the early 80's, taking £100 returnable deposit on a sale being agreed was normal practice in the part of Surrey where I worked. I can't remember any serious buyers ever complaining, and those who did or refused to pay were not precluded from buying the property, but the warning signs went up and, interesting, most of those people were the buyers who caused problems or withdrew from their purchase later.

From: Richard Copus 07 February 2017 09:21 AM

Richard Copus
Forget the last sentence referring to a third. Message decided to send itself when sentence was meant to delete!!

From: Richard Copus 19 January 2017 10:23 AM

Richard Copus
Usual bog standard use of statistics which is becoming more and more a way to gain media coverage for one's organisation. 33% success in the local market is useless if 99% of those properties are of a different type to the one you want to sell. Also, I challenge Brackets to prove that they usually achieve the asking price on 68% of the properties they sell. "Usually" must mean at least 90% of all those homes or trading standards will be after them. According to these figures hat's coming on for a third of all properties in Tonbridge selling at the asking price!

From: Richard Copus 19 January 2017 10:19 AM

Richard Copus
Not quite, in my view. Equity release helps some of those still remaining with interest only mortgages who would otherwise be forced out of their homes. Most people use it for that little bit of added cash to go on a few extra holidays before they pass away or get Alzheimers. The amount borrowed is usually minimal compared to the equity in their properties and as long as the amount one is able to borrow is capped at around a third of full capital value (which it is not as one can borrow more and more as one gets older) it is a benefit to the homeowner, the economy in general and does not add to the housing bubble.

From: Richard Copus 10 January 2017 10:31 AM

Richard Copus
What's your job Mr Solomon? As estate agents cannot physically or mentally work 24/7 enquirers will need to deal with call centres who know little or nothing about the property in question. Also, clients often do not like being called late in the evening or at 7 in the morning to arrange a viewing. There is a human element in all of this and if people want to lose that - fine - but they will then be complaining that they are forever dealing with people who don't know the full facts and "immediate and accurate information" will not be possible. Buying a house is not like buying a tv off Amazon or E-Bay.

From: Richard Copus 06 January 2017 11:19 AM

Richard Copus
Great! I've had a heavy day at work and go out with a few mates for a skinful. Oh dear, I can't drive home. Doesn't mater, I'll leave my car till tomorrow morning! Or, I'm in bed with a filthy bug (don't go there!) and can't go to work for a few days; the last thing I'm able to do is move the car. Happy Christmas innovators!

From: Richard Copus 13 December 2016 10:35 AM

Richard Copus
Boards are one of the best advertising mediums for us agents. People still wander around towns and villages at weekends looking for their dream homes and a board outside the perfect house can result in an instant sale. It certainly did on our first buy. The problem is agents giving no thought to designing boards to fit into Conservation Areas and also fly-boarding all over the place. We are our own worst enemies and board bans are likely to increase. It is easier for councils to slap blanket bans on areas rather than utilise the few staff they've got to prosecute individual rogue agents.

From: Richard Copus 29 November 2016 11:00 AM

Richard Copus
Just as well it wasn't an auction instruction as there was no proof of the best price having been obtained. The courts hold a minimum of 4 weeks marketing and a sale in the room as proof. Taking the vendor's valuation as the easy option and selling the property virtually overnight with more than one person interested tends to suggest a sale at below market value.

From: Richard Copus 22 November 2016 09:54 AM

Richard Copus
With average houses prices of around £250,000 to £400,000 in most parts of the country, substantial savings are being made by buyers under the new regime. London is essential to all of us, but perhaps the mayor and the London boroughs should set stamp duty in the capital which is more and more like a city state rather than just a capital city.

From: Richard Copus 18 November 2016 09:35 AM

Richard Copus
Good luck, Scott!

From: Richard Copus 07 November 2016 09:51 AM

Richard Copus
I agree that some people are making things over complicated. There is no difference in working from home or a third floor office without a window (which many agents did half a century or more ago, as did solicitors) as long a they are doing the business and people can meet the agent face to face if necessary. More of a con is firms which pretend to have multiple offices where some of those offices are shut most of the time and are simply being used as window displays.

From: Richard Copus 07 September 2016 11:18 AM

Richard Copus
Let's start rebuilding our manufacturing industry post-Brexit by making a few more bricks then!

From: Richard Copus 25 August 2016 09:10 AM

Richard Copus
If Chris Arnold concentrates on recommending the right agent for the right type of house rather than negotiating a few hundred pounds off already rock bottom fees and charging £250 (+VAT?) for it, he'll be on to a good thing.

From: Richard Copus 25 August 2016 09:07 AM

Richard Copus
Bit of a generalisation I think. The London market has been dropping which was on the cards anyway and just happens to be where a large number of Remainers are. The provincial market has been holding up well regardless, partly because it did not go through recent London boom, and just happens to be where many Brexiteers live. I think the truth of the matter is that life carries on regardless, and certainly most of the Remainers that I know want to be positive about things, even though we are not particularly happy with the result of the referendum (particularly bearing in mind that every other advanced democracy, all of which have written constitutions, require a minimum of 60% and usually a two thirds majority for major constitutinoal change!).

From: Richard Copus 18 August 2016 09:45 AM

Richard Copus
This is a really positive report made out to be doom and gloom. Transactions up 6.5% throughout the country following the referendum month, house prices down 0.9% nationwide which means they are up around 0.4% everywhere except in the city state which was bloated before the referendum and had to dip. Outside London life continues as normal. What's the problem?

From: Richard Copus 10 August 2016 09:31 AM

Richard Copus
This ban is likely to spread throughout the country if we agents don't get our acts together quickly and follow the legislation. Here in the rural West Country boards are placed on roadsides hundreds of metres, and sometimes over half a mile, from the properties that are being sold, and erected by some of the most "professional" estate agents. Hardly necessary in these days of sat nav. In our main town, council verges are littered with lettings and for sale boards, often with half dozen or so grouped together. Boards are valuable to us so let's not encourage their loss.

From: Richard Copus 28 July 2016 09:10 AM

Richard Copus
I beg to disagree, John. Different properties require different marketing to enable them to receive maximum coverage in the right places. E.g. a three bedroomed, 1930s semi-detached suburban house might do great on Rightmove, OTM/Zoopla, the local paper and all the usual marketing channels, but a 4 bedroomed period property, possibly listed and in a conservation area, or an individual modern home, need to attract different people and require more money spending on them on more specific marketing to find the right buyer.

From: Richard Copus 22 July 2016 10:13 AM

Richard Copus
At last someone in the limelight with a proven track record, some clout and who appreciates both sides of the Brexit argument. I can't think of anyone better to lead the country at the moment and to negotiate the best deal for us with Brussels. Out of chaos........................?!

From: Richard Copus 12 July 2016 10:15 AM

Richard Copus
If the "expert" has little or no knowledge of the area he is not an expert and Purple Bricks would be liable to prosecution for misrepresentation and possibly criminally for fraud if Purple Bricks has taken money under false pretences. When will the first person do something about this?!

From: Richard Copus 13 June 2016 10:07 AM

Richard Copus
Forget the Scottish system. Scotland has a completely different legal system with separate roots from English Common Law. Most Australian states and US states and others practicising English Law or with English Law roots have amended the LPA to enable much swifter exchange of contracts and those are the routes we could go down much more easily with a minimum of legislation.

From: Richard Copus 12 May 2016 13:51 PM

Richard Copus
Hi Chris, A Brexit would lead to major uncertainty for some years and the housing market does not like uncertainty.

From: Richard Copus 04 May 2016 13:18 PM

Richard Copus
The law clearly states that the anti-competitive rules that OTM sign up to are legal for an initial period of time. This is to allow new entrants to any industry or business where there is a near monopoly. Otherwise virtually nobody would want or be able to start up in such a powerfully controlled situation. This is exactly where OTM is with Rightmove and Zoopla. The CMA have not gone against this. They have simply told agents that they must not form groupings/cartels to disadvantage Zoopla or Rightmove by agreeing together to leave either of them. I find it incredible how our industry is hell bent on self-imploding. From cutting commissions to the raw, carrying out free "probate" and "matrimonial" valuations where the vendor/solicitor is just looking for comparables, offering no-term contracts and generally smiling and saying "come and take me for a ride", we are our own worst enemies. It's about time we took a good look at other English law practicising countries (which is just under one quarter of first world countries and I include the USA here) and learn from them. If we walk away from OTM there will not be another chance in a generation to break the duopoly and, hang on, don't we now have 3 property portals rather than 2? OTM HAS broken the duopoly. It's still early days so let's hang in there.

From: Richard Copus 26 April 2016 09:47 AM

Richard Copus
Annual house price inflation is nowhere near 10% outside London and selected price peak areas. It has been struggling along at 2% to 4% for the last few years in much of England and Wales and in a market which is highly price sensitive. Agents have to work in these markets and explain to clients that the value of their properties has not gone up much while the clients are reading the information that pours forth from Halifax and the like and think their properties are worth a mint and buyers will be queuing up at the door when they place them on the market way above actual value. We live in two countries now. London and the Home Counties and the rest.

From: Richard Copus 08 April 2016 10:42 AM

Richard Copus
Lack of international confidence in the UK, years of tying up "free" trade agreements, liaising with a mega-pissed off EU which is far bigger en masse than our economy, Frankfurt taking over from The City as the World's major financial centre (not forgetting New York), all these and more will lead to lack of investment and the greatest uncertainty in this country's future since there has been since the end of World War II. Of course house prices will suffer.

From: Richard Copus 22 March 2016 09:46 AM

Richard Copus
Yet another forecaster looking into their crystal ball to get some publicity. I would like to know how BNP Paribas come to their conclusion that house prices down here in the-south west will rise far higher than anywhere else. Even including Bristol and the M.4 corridor there is little evidence to substantiate such growth. Also, how can anyone predict what is going to happen in 4 years when we have a major referendum in June which will affect our economic future, whichever way the vote goes, and international markets are still unstable? As Fake Agent says, the demand v supply equation can only work up to a point.

From: Richard Copus 15 March 2016 09:54 AM

Richard Copus
Wow! A Brexit would benefit the higher end of the market because the pound would plummet initially and then settle at considerably lower than it is at the moment. How narrow-minded and insular can you get? There are far more important things to be concerned about in this coming referendum than a few mega-rich property owners and speculators. Our whole economic future is at stake here.

From: Richard Copus 12 March 2016 00:19 AM

Richard Copus
The best one is "deceptively spacious". Grammatically that means smaller than it looks!

From: Richard Copus 07 March 2016 09:21 AM

Richard Copus
A slow but steady flow of solicitors in England and Wales are now setting up estate agency departments. I think we'll be hearing more from them over the next few years. The upmarket approach contrasts well with the bog standard approach of most of the online agencies.

From: Richard Copus 19 February 2016 10:32 AM

Richard Copus
I like the idea of "consultancy offering". As I keep going on about to the point of boredom, it is very likely that around half of high street agents will have disappeared within the next 6 years and the survivors will be the innovators, those providing a person to person service, individuals with a good reputation whose business is mainly from established clients and recommendations, those who specialise and niche market, and those who use professional qualifications to differentiate themselves from the rest. Thornton Robson are one of the innovators.

From: Richard Copus 29 January 2016 09:54 AM

Richard Copus
What an uninspiring description! Also, "The property briefly comprises of"; for a house of this calibre one would expect some sort of comprehension of English grammar!

From: Richard Copus 20 January 2016 10:01 AM

Richard Copus
What's new? Over 30% of transactions in chains of one fall through and the percentage rockets as the chains get longer. It's been like that forever. To use the Scottish system would require radical changes as their legal system has a completely different basis from English Law. Australia (English Law) and the USA (uses English law as persuasive precedent) have amended the system quite effectively with far fewer sales falling through and much faster transaction periods, so there is no reason why we cannot do the same, if there is a will.

From: Richard Copus 07 January 2016 09:19 AM

Richard Copus
"To get an idea of the true value of a house we would need to talk about pounds per square foot". Following EAT's headline yesterday: "Over 50% of new homes too small for families", I wonder what effect this would have on the resale value of some of these boxes?!

From: Richard Copus 03 December 2015 09:36 AM

Richard Copus
Trevor, I don't think it's on Scottish properties. That is for the devolved Government in Edinburgh to decide.

From: Richard Copus 29 November 2015 18:43 PM

Richard Copus
The RICS has gone from one extreme to the other. Instead of dreary, negative reports we now have over the top, speculative ones! As Trevor says, there are more than a few factors that can upset the applecart, and a rapid increase in house prices would be one of them! Also, take our successful city state out of the equation and the report would be down to almost single figures which would not make news!

From: Richard Copus 13 November 2015 09:55 AM

Richard Copus
Halifax up to its old tricks again manipulating stats to get into the news.

From: Richard Copus 06 November 2015 11:47 AM

Richard Copus
This is a particular worry in the provinces where the ripple effect has not been spreading out of London and prices have been increasing very modestly, in some places not at all. Outside the London and the Home Counties bubble "exuberance" is an unknown word. Unfortunately, a London crash WOULD ripple out to the rest of the country.

From: Richard Copus 04 November 2015 12:50 PM

Richard Copus
Sit your applicants down in front of two screens, one showing properties on Rightmove and one showing properties on OTM and ask them which site they prefer to look at. I'm yet to met any house hunter who prefers the Rightmove layout and its constant ads. On the Market is clear and relaxing to surf.

From: Richard Copus 30 October 2015 15:00 PM

Richard Copus
What a suitable background to be an estate agent!

From: Richard Copus 01 October 2015 09:47 AM

Richard Copus
There seems to be an increasing lack of understanding of anything except the most basic properties from the main lenders. This is possibly because of lack of knowledge in those creating lending policy. It would help if the NAEA and RICS used their positions to explain the various restrictions and to emphasise that not all properties are simple houses and that the more complicated titles can often form better security for the lender.

From: Richard Copus 09 September 2015 12:15 PM

Richard Copus
Playing with market forces is only going to lead to distortions as happens every time a government puts its oar into the property market. As someone who lives in a rural community and deals with rural property on a daily basis, the only sane answer to this problem is to build more social housing in and around our villages for rental only, in addition to more smaller houses for sale. The biggest mistake was selling off council houses and not replacing them in those communities. Council houses at affordable rents allow people who will never be able to get onto the housing ladder to rent in perpetuity in their own communities and gives them social stability. It also gives the opportunity for others to save and move out of rented and into the open market, as it always did - and it worked.

From: Richard Copus 11 August 2015 10:15 AM

Richard Copus
The fact is that most good estate agents will use their best endeavours to find a suitable buyer at the best available price for their client and will tell them this either verbally or in writing. This immediately provides a duty at common law for the agent to act pro-actively which is not there on a multiple agency. Like many other agents, I also have a real problem taking quality property on multi agency, e.g. listed buildings, which require a lot of initial preparation and production work to enable them to be marketed properly during which time they could be sold under my feet. One tends to concentrate on the sole agency or sole selling rights property in these cases because the client has chosen or instructed me or my firm for a particular reason. There are arguments for and against. With the bog standard house which can be put onto the market in a matter of hours and where the client is clearly not particularly worried about what agent he is using, then multiple is what the client needs and what he should get. But the argument is counter-productive in many other cases, in my opinion, and often leads to the client getting an inferior service. That's my three ha'pence worth!

From: Richard Copus 06 June 2015 10:00 AM

Richard Copus
The only way the Government will be made to change is its mind is with a rash of cases relating to non- compliance with the existing legislation and from overt dishonesty. Yopa may be starting this run already with its proud statement that they will value homes without viewing them. The first thing a trainee estate agent learns is that you cannot value a property without seeing it and I can see the elderly living on their own and naive sellers being the first victims of this practice.

From: Richard Copus 26 May 2015 11:01 AM

Richard Copus
Sole selling rights or sole agency agreements give the estate agent the exclusivity required to fully market a client's property within a given period of time. With the cost of hundreds and sometimes thousands of pounds spent to give a house the attention it needs to find the best buyer at full market value, and most of this being spent within the first few months of marketing, this finite period of exclusivity encourages the agent to pull all the stops out and benefits the client rather than prejudices him/her. Multi agency has been proved over the years to be the most inefficient form of marketing. Agency periods of over four months are unconscionable and if trading standards and the Ombudsman started treating these as unfair contract terms, then most of the criticism of sole agreements would fizzle out.

From: Richard Copus 21 May 2015 09:53 AM

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